Amidst The Darkness
by ShandyCandy278
Summary: This is a continuation of my story 'A Kiss', only from Adrien's POV. I suggest reading it before reading this. With Marinette unconscious, their teammates akumatized, and the Great Guardian unable to fight, just what will Adrien do? Or will a walking, ancient legend come in to help set everything right? Reveal/Final battle story. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Adrien wasn't sure what was going on.

There, his father stood. Or, at least, it had been his father. Now he was a masked man.

A masked man that no one had seen until then.

A masked man that he had fought against.

"So?" Gabriel- no, Hawk Moth- asked, turning around to face him. Adrien slowly shook his head in disbelief, before he did it again- much faster than he had previously.

"No… No, No! I won't!" he exclaimed, holding onto his ring tightly. "I refuse!"

"Then I'm afraid…" Hawk Moth pulled out one of his butterflies, turning it black. "That you leave me no other choice."

"Claws out!" He shouted, transforming into Chat Noir and getting into a fighting stance. Hawk Moth laughed.

"Really? You think your Miraculous will save you?" He asked. "The only one who is truly protected from being Akumatized is Ladybug. You're friends- they used to be Lady Wifi, Anti-bug, and Bubbler- your fellow heroes- they don't stand a chance." He smirked.

"And you're so confused, even you, one who hasn't been akumatized yet, can be akumatized. Of course, being in suit will only make you the opposite of who you are. Such a shame." Hawk Moth shrugged, letting the butterfly go.

Chat Noir panicked, mind still spinning in confusion as he broke the window open, leaping through it.

He- He knew who they were?

What was happening to his friends?

Why was the sky so dark?

How was his father Hawk Moth?!

He rushed across the rooftops as fast as he could, but he ended up tripping over himself and falling into an alley.

He could see the past akumatized people on the streets, looking around, searching for something and wreaking havoc.

As he looked up at the sky, he realized that it was full of akumas- thousands and thousands of akumas, hiding the sky from their view.

The time had come.

A sudden flutter of the wings, and Chat Noir gasped, turning away from the sky to watch just as the akuma landed on his golden bell.

 _How had he not seen that?!_

It stayed golden, but some patches of white started to appear on his suit in random patches. He looked around.

He needed Ladybug.

His green night vision was slowly turning yellow, although he didn't know why. He rushed through the alleys, stumbling as sudden shocks of pain erupted from his ring.

Plagg was trying to help him fight back, but it hurt with every go.

He needed to calm down.

Chat Noir slowed down to a walk, and eventually leaned against the wall, observing himself.

He… he kinda looked like tuxedo cat, only there were random patches of black in the white, and white in the black.

He breathed deeply, closing his eyes.

' _Don't think.'_ He told himself. ' _Don't feel. Emotions are what the akuma takes advantage of. Be logical.'_

He began to think through things, keeping his eyes closed.

His father was Hawk Moth.

He knew the identities of him and his friends.

His friends were in trouble.

Ladybug couldn't be akumatized.

His father had forced an akumatization on him.

He was becoming the opposite of who he was.

A spike of panic coursed through him, but he shook it off, opening his eyes.

If he became the opposite of who he was…

He wouldn't be protecting his lady.

He'd be attacking her with as much fervor as he defended her.

And that wouldn't be good.

He needed to tell her to leave.

A sudden whooshing sound, and he looked at the road beside him. An army of akumas was chasing after Ladybug, who looked to be headed to the eiffel tower. She was looking around wildly, confused.

At one point, she stopped on one of the rooftops to hold her hands to her mouth and shout.

"Chat! Chat Noir, where are you?!"

And then she was forced to continue moving by no other than those that she had previously helped, swinging away.

What was she doing?!

She needed to leave!

Out of the corner of his eye (the one with the yellow night vision) a purple outline glowed.

" _A….. Adr… ca…. me… Adrien…"_

Chat Noir shook his head, tuning the voice out. Hawk Moth, his father, was trying to contact him- trying to get further control.

He wouldn't let him.

Not until he had warned his lady.

Grunting as the pain coming from his ring increased, he used his staff to follow Ladybug to the Eiffel Tower. For some reason, the akumas didn't dare try to go up here.

He landed behind her, and she turned around instantly, sighing in what sounded like relief.

"You're here!" She exclaimed, almost happy that he was here. It was then that he realized that she didn't know, and he held up a hand to stop her as another jolt of pain came crashing on him.

"Don't… come… clo-closer…"

She froze, he eyes widening as she caught sight of his white/black glove.

That was right, she didn't have night vision.

How many times by now had he forgotten that?

"Chat…?"

"He… He knows." Chat Noir managed to get out as another sting of pain encompassed him- longer and stronger than the prior ones. "H-Hawk Moth, he-he knows who we are, m-milady." He breathed a heavy breath, trying not to show how much pain he was in.

"He-He forced a-an akumatization. On-On me. S-So I guess I'm becom-ming the opp-posite of who I am-m? A-And I g-guess that is showes, d-doesn't it?" He breathed a light laugh, walking forward. She stayed still, observing him and his figure as he walked forward.

The purple butterfly mask flickered in front of him again.

" _Adr… can…. Ar…. me? I… ave a…. Sistion…. Ed to… ear…"_

Chat Noir pushed the voice to the side again as more pain came from his ring.

He wanted to tear the thing off, but he knew it was slowing the process.

As long as he remained calm and neutral, he would be okay.

But…

He never was one to stand idly by and remain silent.

"I-I'm winning, right-t now." He breathed, knowing that she was in shock. "But it w-won't be that way forever-r. S-So, I have to tell-" Another shock of pain. "To t-tell you…" He sucked in a breath, tears gathering in his eyes.

He had never imagined that he would have to tell her, the light of his life- his one true love- this.

"Leave, Ladybug."

She gasped, and he continued.

"Leave, and don't come ba-back!" He exclaimed. "Leave! Be-Before my fath-father hurts you! Before I… Before I-I hurt you… I don't want to-to do that… p-please, bugab-boo, LEAVE!"

Ladybug took a step back, her eyes wide and filled with tears. She clutched her yoyo tightly, holding it up and ready to throw.

' _Yes.'_ He thought. ' _Go! Run away, while you still can!'_

But…

Sh-She paused.

She hesitated.

Why'd she do that?! She needed to go!

"Chat… I…" She clenched her fist before letting it hang loosely at her side.

"I can't, Chat."

His heart stopped.

"Y-You have too!" He exclaimed. His whole body was shaking, and the white was slowly crawling over the black of his suit.

He could feel it taking over his body. The pain came in stronger bursts, being an almost constant buzz as the dam holding his emotions in began to break.

She needed to leave.

"Leave, La-Lady-Ladybug, L-Leave! We need-d you, but-but y-you can't sacrifice your-yourself! You-you have to purify the-the akuma!"

"I'm not leaving!" She exclaimed. "I'm-I'm not leaving you, Chat! We're partners, a team- the original duo! We'll do this together, like we've always done!"

Curse her stubbornness that he adored- she was going to get herself killed!

"I don-don't want to hurt-t you!" He ground out, almost snarling. Why couldn't she understand?! She needed to go!

"Leave!"

"No."

"Leave!" He shouted again, hoping to make her understand. The dams around his emotions were quavering- any second now, they were going to fall.

"No!" She took a step forward, tears in her eyes. Why was she crying?! Why was she staying?! She needed to go! "I-I can't Chat, can't you see that?!"

The dam broke.

"WHY?!" He shouted, nearly screamed. His voice almost seemed to double, one sounding more wild than his normal voice. He felt fear- fear towards _himself_ stab his heart, but he continued on anyway.

"WH-WHY CAN'T-T YOU?! WHY-WHY CAN'T YOU L-LEAVE- B-BE-BE SAFE?! ST-STAY SAFE?! WHY, MILADY-Y, WHY?!"

He was so confused. He didn't understand her, and he never pretended to, but couldn't she see how dangerous it was?! To be near him?! She needed to go!

Contrary to what he wished, she took a few more steps closer to him. He stumbled as he backed away, the now-constant pain growing stronger.

If she wouldn't leave him, then he needed to leave her.

His plan was no good- his back hitting the railing. He stared up at her, full of fear for her. She needed to go.

But… why?

Why wouldn't she?

"Why?" He found himself asking in a soft, almost broken voice that shocked even him. She leaned closer to him. "Wh-Why… Why for-for me…?"

He…

He had to know.

Before he did something he didn't want to do.

"Because, I… I-I love you, you silly cat." She said in a teasing voice.

He blinked.

' _Wh… What…?'_

"R-Reall-ly?"

He needed to know that it wasn't a joke.

"Yes." She breathed, a soft smile growing on her face, one full of so much love that made his heart ache. "Yes, of course! I love you so much, Chat! You- You have no idea!"

A stronger shock of pain broke through the other pain, and he gasped, falling to his knees.

He watched as his suit continued to turn white at a slightly faster pace, but he didn't care.

Ladybug…

She…

She finally _loved him_.

 _She loved him!_

She knelt down in front of him a few moments later, using her hand to take his eyes off of his black-turning-white suit.

"I love you so, so much, kitty." She said, and he felt himself smiling. She moved the hand that wasn't holding his face up to grab his hand instead, squeezing it. "That-That's why I can't leave you kitty."

"But… But y-you ha-have to." He stated, his previous worries coming back as he shoved the new information into the back of his mind. "F-Father- he'll m-m-make me hu-urt you… I do-don't want-t to hurt y-you. Not-Not you. Not… Not-"

"It's okay, Chat." She said softly. He shook his head, observing her through his now completely yellow night-vision.

She still didn't understand.

"I… I cou-could nev-ver live w-with myself-f if-if I hu-hurt you."

"I know, Chat. I know." She leaned in, slowly, looking into his eyes before her eyes fell upon his lips. His breath hitched.

Was…

Was she going to kiss him?!

"And you won't ever be forced to hurt me, Chat." She whispered before placing her lips upon his.

Although it was only for a few moments, it was everything that he thought it would be. He couldn't fully enjoy it though, as a white light surrounded the both of them, and then a pink light surrounded her.

His eyes were still wide, so he watched as her costume slowly faded away, revealing a very familiar girl with blue/black hair tied into pigtails…

The same girl who sat behind him in class.

Marinette.

She pulled away, only far enough to look him in the eye and smile tiredly. The pain was now gone from his body, and he could feel the akuma's influence disappear entirely. But he could see it in her eyes- she had taken the pain from him.

She didn't make it disappear, she transferred the pain to herself.

She opened her mouth.

"Not-Not wh-ile I ha-have any-anything to say-say about-t it." She seemed to sway a bit, her vision growing hazy as she stared at something behind him.

"M-Marinette?" He asked as she collapsed in his arms. His hold tightened on her as she fell unconscious. Vaguely, he noticed that his suit was completely black again, and his night vision green. "Marinette? M-Marinette?! Marinette! Marinette, wake up! Wake-Wake up, milady, wake up!"

He held her closer to him, tears gathering in his eyes.

"I-I can't do this alone! You-You have to wake up! Wake up! W-Wake up! Please!"

"D-Don't worry…" A small, high-pitched and weak, voice spoke up. He looked down, only to see a small, red creature with three black dots on it's head, and tired blue eyes.

"Y-You're…"

"Yes…" He leaned over and picked Tikki up carefully. "We… We're gonna be out for a while…. But she'll be okay…"

"Wh-What are we gonna do?" Chat Noir asked. Tikki smiled weakly.

"I can take you to someone who can help… But first, w-we're gonna need cookies."

"Cookies. Right." Chat Noir nodded, wiping the tears off of his face. He shifted his hold on Marinette, until he was standing, and she was on his back. He placed Tikki in between his neck and Marinette's head, hoping that she wouldn't fall off that way.

"Head to Marinette's house. I can take you to the great guardian from there."

Chat Noir nodded, taking out his staff. Then he paused.

"Wh-What about the akumas?"

"I'll use up what energy I have left to draw them away. And Marinette's house has a force field around it that makes it mostly invisible to them. The one at Master Fu's is stronger, which is why we need to get to him."

"Alright- hang on, uhhh…"

"Tikki."

"Tikki. Right, I'll remember that." Chat Noir nodded to himself, and then he launched himself off of the Eiffel Tower.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take long to get to Master Fu's house. After getting a tupperware container full of cookies, and some cheese pastries for Plagg, of course.

The old man opened the door for him and practically dragged him inside.

"Hurry! The field is weakened when the door is open." He explained, closing and locking the door behind Chat Noir. After he finished locking the five locks and placing some paper on the door, he turned around to face Chat Noir. "Here, you can place her down on the mat- I'm afraid that I don't have any furniture here."

Chat Noir nodded, carefully taking Marinette and placing her down on the surprisingly soft mat. Tikki flew down and landed beside her, staring at her worriedly. Although she was still weak, the cookies had helped.

"Claws in." He muttered. His transformation fell away, and Plagg literally fell out of the ring. Adrien caught the kwami, who looked exhausted- like Adrien had used ten cataclysms in a row.

"Kid…" Plagg somehow found the energy to throw Adrien a light glare. "Never do that again."

"I won't Plagg, and I know that it's not camembert, but I figured it would work." Adrien reached behind him and pulled out the tupperware. Plagg flew over to it as fast as he could and began eating as Master Fu walked over and sat across from Adrien. He placed his middle and pointer finger on Marinette's forehead and closed his eyes, humming.

"So, she used it…"

"Used what?"

"An emergency purification spell." Master Fu replied, removing his hands up to hover over Marinette's body. "Also popularly known in your culture as 'True Love's Kiss', which is the same thing that saved you from Dark Cupid. Although, this one was much stronger in comparison. It will take a while for her to recover- she's not used to using it."

"Wait- she's kissed me before?!" Adrien asked, eyes wide.

"Yes." Master Fu nodded. "When you were under Dark Cupid's influence, you attempted to use Cataclysm on her. Earlier that day, you had had a lesson about true love's kiss, and she used that information in an attempt to bring you back."

Adrien only stared, so Master Fu continued.

"She didn't realize that until after her third lesson with me, when we came across a spell that would only work on you- to purify any akuma that tried to akumatize you. She denied it at first, but after awhile I guess that she figured it all out and accepted it." Master Fu sighed. "Tragic, really. But you'll learn why for yourself after she wakes up."

"Wh-When will she wake up?" Adrien asked softly, looking down at Marinette.

"Within the next three days, at least." He said, standing up. "But you and I- we have work to do until then."

"What do you mean?"

"Hawk Moth has begun the final battle." Master Fu said. "We need to get Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, and Carapace back at the very least. Maybe call on some others for help, but we can't do that without Ladybug." He reached for a phone. "I know who to call, and she knows how to get here. Within an hour, at least- three at most."

"Wh-Who are you calling?" Adrien asked, eyes wide.

"You'll find out soon." Master Fu smiled at Adrien and placed a hand to his head. Adrien suddenly felt exhaustion come in from the days events, and he laid down beside Marinette. "For now, sleep. You'll need your rest."

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When Adrien awoke again, it was still dark out, which confused him.

That is, until the events came back into his memory.

He groaned, sitting up and looking around. He had been moved to an air-mattress, Marinette still on the mat. He could see Master Fu laying down on some pillows, and someone was sitting next to Marinette. She seemed to be sprinkling something on her and mumbling words under her breath, her figure in a soft white halo that he would have blamed on the moon had it been out.

He blinked before he gasped, standing up.

"What are you doing?!"

"EEEEEEP!" The figure shrieked, looking up. Although his night vision wasn't as good as it was as Chat Noir, he could see her facial features, and then her hair as her hood on her black cloak fell off.

She was a girl, looking to be about 16 years of age. She had blonde hair that was tied into a high ponytail, and short purple hair around the base of her neck. There was a short, thick braid of red hair on the left side of her hair, right before her ear.

It was her eyes, however, that startled him the most. Her left eye was a purple amethyst color, but her right eye was a mixture of red and purple. They were blown wide, clearly startled. She stood up, jumpy and almost tripping on herself.

"I-I'm so sorry- did I wake you?" She asked, nervous. "A-Are you okay? I-I didn't mean to wake you up and stuff-"

She began to ramble, and Adrien blinked, observing her further. Beneath her black cloak, she had winged armoured boots, and black shorts that held onto her thighs tightly. Above that, a chestplate was in place of a shirt. Some kind of cuffs were on her lower arms. A shield with the yin-yang symbol and a sheathed sword sat against the wall closest to her, and a bag was by where she had been sitting previously.

"I-It's okay." Adrien said finally, stepping closer and holding his arms out in a 'calm down' gesture. "You didn't do anything wrong. I was just wondering what you were doing to Mari."

"O-Oh." She blinked, before relaxing and nodding. "I was making sure that she'd be healthy and re-energized when she woke up. We can't have this time's Ladybug be weak- not during this time of need." She slowly knelt back down, and Adrien followed, sitting across from her as she continued what she was doing. She sprinkled some green dust on Marinette and it glowed before disappearing.

"So… who are you?"

"M-Me?" The girl asked, almost shocked. "I-I, uh, I'm Light." Adrien blinked, looking up at her in confusion. She blinked back before gasping, seeming to realize what he thought. "I, um, sorry! I-I meant Koena. O-My name's Koena."

"Nice to meet you, Koena." Adrien said. "I'm-"

"Adrien Agreste, AKA Chat Noir." Koena nodded. "I-I know."

"Wha- how'd you know?!" He gasped. "I mean, Tikki explained that Master Fu gave us the Miraculous, but I don't know anything about you."

"O-Oh!" Koena blinked, pausing for a moment before she continued. "Y-Yeah, um… I'm not sure how to explain this without Master Fu. Most people get really confused when any of us try to tell them, it's always best if someone else does-"

"Us?"

"I-I-I mean, me." Koena corrected, seeming to berate herself before she murmured something, sprinkling pink dust next. After it disappeared, she nodded to herself, and then turned to face him. "That should do. D-Do you want some?"

"Huh?"

"I-I can re-energize you too, b-but you'll have to go back to sleep in order for it to work. I-I can help you fall asleep too- and this is only if you want to, I'm not going to force you or anything-"

"Will it help?"

"Y-yeah, it would. I-I've already done it to your kwamis… I hope you don't mind, they were just really tired and-"

"I don't mind. And you can re-energize me too." Adrien smiled softly at Koena, who blinked. Then she nodded slowly.

"If… If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

"Very well then. L-Lay down, please." Adrien nodded and moved back to his mat, laying down in a comfortable position. Koena reached into her bag and pulled out some herbs as Adrien closed his eyes.

"Sleep." She muttered, sprinkling something on him. Adrien suddenly felt a tingling feeling encase his own body as she mumbled some other, unknown words. His mind suddenly felt hazy, and he embraced the sleep, his final thought of consciousness hoping that Marinette would be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Shandy: Don't worry, DarkAces362, we will.

Candy: It's just that stories with OCs in them don't get popular on here. Like, at ALL.

Shandy: So we don't feel the need to be updating it all that much.

Candy: Enjoy the story!

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When Adrien woke up again, it was to the smell of food.

His mouth watered, and he sat up slowly, looking around.

Koena seemed to be leaning up against the wall, next to her weapons, asleep. Marinette was still asleep, but Master Fu was not. In fact, he was in the kitchen.

Adrien stood up and walked over to him, rubbing his eyes.

"You have a kitchen, but you don't have any furniture here?"

"My place of work is protected- not my home." Master Fu admitted, continuing to scramble the eggs. "I don't like going out to get food, and I spend most of my day here, so my house does not have a kitchen. My place of work, however, does."

"You're a weird, old man Fu." Plagg spoke, yawning and landing on Adrien's head.

"Why thank you, Plagg."

"You're awake!" Adrien exclaimed, looking up.

"Yeah, yeah, of course I am- Koena used her herbs on me." He sighed. "I can remember when she was just a little human, still learning everything. She's improved a lot since then."

"Wait- you know Koena?" Adrien asked, surprised.

"All of the kwamis do." Master Fu said with a nod. "And I do as well. She is a living legend."

"What do you mean?"

"Sit, and eat. I will tell you everything afterwards." Master Fu said with a smile. He finished up the eggs and served them to himself and Adrien.

"What about Koena?" Adrien asked when he noticed that Master Fu didn't leave any extra. They both sat down on the floor, seeing as there was no table.

"She doesn't like eggs." He said. "It's odd, but she won't tell me why she doesn't."

"Ah… okay."

It was silent as they ate, allowing Adrien to ponder what had happened to him in the last 24 hours.

His father was Hawk Moth.

Honestly, he shouldn't be surprised. There were so many signs- so many hints that he simply refused to notice, or called them something else.

What was he planning on doing, anyway? Surely he knew the consequences of wishing upon the Miraculous. He wouldn't sacrifice someone to bring someone else back to life… right? Mother wouldn't want that.

And clearly his father didn't care about him in the grand scheme of things- he was willing to akumatize his own son- and forcefully, at that. Not to mention the amount of little kids and broken hearts that he had toyed with in his attempts to get what he wanted.

Marinette was Ladybug.

His heart squeezed and soared excitedly as he remembered that.

All this time, the cute, shy classmate that sat behind him- the one that always stuttered and tripped over herself- the one who made a grand stand against Chloe nearly every day, was his lady.

He could believe it, and he wished that he had noticed it sooner.

But… she didn't exactly like him as either persona, did she? He mentally groaned.

Now it was going to be harder to win her heart.

He was so lost in his plans to try and win her heart, that Master Fu had to clear his throat to get his attention. Adrien sat up straight, noticing that they were both done eating.

He was going to get answers.

"Koena is… well, she's the guardian of the guardians."

"Pardon?"

"You, Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Chloe- even me, although I no longer have a miraculous- are considered in ancient texts as 'guardians'. In this day and age, you're referred to as 'chosen'." He explained. "Marinette and Tikki have no doubt referred to me as the 'great guardian', but that is only because I have had proper training. Koena is, by right, the true 'great guardian', as she is the one who protects us. Or, at least, she does in times like this. Most of the time she wanders the Earth, making sure that everything is balanced."

"That makes sense…" Adrien nodded. "So, was she chosen like us?"

"In a sense, yes."

"So who chose her? The past Great Guardian? Or is it passed down through blood?"

"Oh, heavens no." Master Fu chuckled. "Adrien, how old do you think Koena is?"

"Uhh… 16? 17 at most. Why?"

"She is much, much older than that."

"How old is she?"

"Let me put this into context." Master Fu said wisely. "Koena is much, much older than the days that started the Dark Ages."

Adrien's jaw dropped.

"But if you ask her, she will say that she's sixteen. Like the kwamis, she doesn't like revealing her true age." Master Fu explained. "However, I do know that she was properly chosen at the age of ten, and taken in for training by the guardians of that time. She was trained by them in many long-forgotten techniques."

"Properly chosen?"

"Yes." Master Fu nodded. "You see, she was originally born as twins. However, there was a great imbalance in the world. A great disease, that was greater than what would be known as the Black Plague in the far-off future, killed off a good two thirds of the Earth's current population. The universe, seeking prevention of breaking this fragile balance, fused the twins together into one, single body. In this body, they also gave her the magical abilities to help her in the future."

"Wow…"

"Yes, it is indeed amazing." Master Fu agreed. "Because of this fusion, however, she gained three consciousness- each with a different personality. The one that you probably met last night was the light personality."

Adrien nodded, remembering how she had first introduced herself as 'Light' and how she had called herself 'us'.

"The next personality that you're probably going to meet is the neutral, also known as wuji. She is mostly in control, and is a combination of the two. She's usually the most distracted, as she's also the one that communicates between Light and Dark."

"Then Dark is the complete opposite of Light. You can also tell when they're in control because of their eyes. Light has purple and fuschia, wuji has purple and red, and Dark has fuschia and red." Master Fu chuckled. "Also, don't call wuji, well… wuji. She doesn't like it."

"Okay…" Adrien nodded. "So… what do I call them?"

"Well, Light's okay with Light, Dark's okay with Dark, and wuji prefers Koena. However, they all respond to Koena, so you have to check their eyes." He explained wisely. Tikki flew into the room and landed on the cookie jar on the counter, opening it up and pulling out a chocolate chip cookie.

"Good morning, Tikki." Master Fu greeted. Tikki nodded tiredly.

"How's Marinette?" Adrien asked.

"Much better, thanks to Koena." Tikki smiled.

"And you?"

"Definitely better." Tikki bit into her cookie, chewing on it and swallowing before speaking. "I'm so happy to be able to see her again. I haven't seen her since Rome!"

"You loved Rome." Plagg grumbled, sitting next to Tikki with a cheese pastry.

"And you loved Egypt."

"Cats were literally worshipped. No one asked any questions when I asked for food, and no one thought I was a rat when I decided to wander around." Plagg replied. "Unlike _some_ chosen and their households."

"I know that you're talking about me, Plagg." Adrien replied, rolling his eyes.

"You were a spoiled kitty." Tikki admitted, reaching up to scratch behind Plagg's ear. Plagg purred, relaxing into the touch. "Now however, not so much."

"Ah, you're awake." Master Fu smiled at something behind him. Adrien turned around only to see Koena, who stretched and yawned. When her eyes opened, he could see a difference from last night. They were now purple and red, not purple and Fuschia.

"Of course I'm awake." She said. Her voice was no longer meek and soft. Rather, it was kind, but stern. "We have three miraculous holders to save. We don't have time to take cat-naps." She looked down at Adrien. "I assume that Fu has told you about me?"

"Yes." Adrien nodded.

"Good." Koena reached for the cookie jar and the cheese pastries, taking one from each. To his surprise, Plagg and Tikki didn't complain. "How are you two feeling? I was worried there."

"Much better." Tikki said, smiling up at Koena. "Thank you for doing that, you didn't have to."

"I would have done it anyway." Koena smiled and munched on the two treats, using one of her hands to rub the top of both of their heads gently. "Has Plagg been good for you, Adrien?"

"Besides always complaining?" Adrien asked. "Yeah, he is."

"Good- he's worse than Dark, so I just had to check." Koena seemed to pause and roll her eyes. Adrien blinked, a bit shocked. Koena seemed to notice and froze. "Oh, I'm not rolling my eyes at you, you're perfectly fine-"

"No, it's okay." Adrien smiled a bit. "I think I understand." Koena sighed in relief.

"By the way, light wants to thank you for not attacking her last night." She admitted.

"Your welcome…?"

"Now, we need to talk business." Koena said, sitting down with them. "We need to know who we're getting first."

"Rena Rouge would probably be best." Master Fu admitted. Koena nodded after a moment.

"Yes, Trixx's illusions would do nicely with keeping all of us hidden." She looked at Adrien. "What's Alya's akumatized form?"

"Lady Wifi." He said. After Master Fu nodded at him, he continued. "The akuma was in her phone. She uses her phone to throw icons at you- we've seen the pause icon, live-stream icon, lock icon, and a few others that I can't remember. She can also use phones and their screens to get to new places, and she loses her power when the Wifi's cut off."

Koena nodded, leaning back. "Is there anything else?"

"Ladybug used microwaves and stuff to cancel out the signal on a locked door." Adrien admitted, holding back a shiver.

"Anything that can block the signal?"

"Nothing but no Wifi and her phone. She swipes the screen in order to remove them."

"How fast is she?"

"Well, using her phone, she's pretty fast." Adrien admitted. "She can use a 'speed up' icon to go faster and fly on it to go places. But I'd say her running speed is normal."

"Better at close-up or distance combat?"

"I'd think distance." Adrien admitted. "She has to be able to throw her icons- but she can fight close-combat."

"Alright." Koena paused, tapping a finger on her chin as she thought. Adrien glanced at Master Fu, who shrugged. He didn't know what she was up to.

"I got a plan." She admitted. "Considering all of the possibilities, Light wouldn't be of any use. We'll have to be fast and hit hard, so Dark will be up during this fight." Koena paused and sighed, sitting up straight. "Adrien, how well are you?"

"I'm great, thanks to... Light." He said after a moment.

"Mentally." Koena corrected herself.

"Mentally?" Adrien blinked. "Well, I don't feel like I'm gonna be akumatized any time soon, so I'd say pretty good."

"How about you, Fu?"

"I'm afraid not. I have been akumatized before, and without the protection of a Miraculous, I am exposed to being akumatized."

"Alright." Koena nodded. "You'll stay here and watch after Marinette and Tikki then. Adrien and Dark will go out and get Alya."

"Question." Adrien raised his hand. "How do you know all of us, yet don't know who's been akumatized?"

"Magic." Koena replied simply, leaning forward. "I can tell when a new holder is chosen. I can also tell why they were chosen, and who they are. However, I don't know what goes on in their lives."

"So… you knew that my father was…"

"Yes." Koena nodded.

"Why didn't you come to help?" He asked. This time, Plagg flew up and in front of Adrien's face, Tikki behind him.

"It's against her rules." He said. "Like keeping yours and Ladybug's identity's secret was necessary, it's necessary for Koena to not interfere with new chosen's lives. That is, unless something like this happens."

"Your father has upset the balance." Tikki continued. "Koena is here to protect the balance. However, Master Fu had to contact her so that she could know the situation before she came in, so that she understood what needed to be done."

"I do wish that I could've come and stopped this all from happening at the source." She admitted. "But I was also settling a dire problem in America at the time. When I was done, you and Ladybug were doing a good job with keeping the balance balanced. I figured it would be best to leave you alone, and I moved on to another problem."

"Oh…"

"I understand your resentment-" Koena stood up. "But now is the time to fix this problem. I'll only need a few minutes to get completely ready, I suggest using this time wisely." She walked out of the room, and Master Fu and Adrien stared after her. Tikki smiled kindly at Adrien and hugged his cheek.

"Don't worry. It'll work out in the end." She said, before leaving.

"Has…" Adrien swallowed. "Has Koena ever fought on the opposite side?"

"Several times." Plagg admitted, landing on top of Adrien's hair. "Whether she's wanted to or not, whether it's a problem with the miraculous or other forces, she's had to fight on both sides to keep the balance. You should know- the opposite side always changes based off of your perspective."

Adrien nodded, standing up. Master Fu did as well, stretching.

"While you're gone, I'll be working on Marinette." He said. "While you're out, maybe you should try to get some other things so that we're not all sleeping on the floor."

Adrien smiled. "I'll see what I can do."


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for catching the mistake, Sailor Tardis!

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"Are you ready?" Koena looked to her left, where Chat Noir stood.

Now that they were both standing, Adrien noticed that he was a good head taller than her, even though they both looked sixteen. He was almost seventeen, and he was shocked by the common height that he saw around girls was a rule that Koena's body followed.

"As I'll ever be." He responded, reaching behind him for his staff. Koena no longer had her black cloak. Instead, strapped over her shoulder was her shield with the yin-yang symbol on it, and he sword was in her hands.

It was a strange sword- curved around a circle at the end that contained the yin-yang symbol as well. Koena proved that the mighty sword could be split apart a few seconds later, as she pulled the said swords that made one sword apart. The sword with the yang side of the symbol was in her left hand, and the yin side in her right.

"Although, I have to wonder what the plan is." He admitted when Koena combined the two swords together again, sheathing it behind her back with the shield.

"Capture the akuma with your bell, come back with Alya and Trixx, and pick up some sleeping equipment." She replied. Chat Noir raised an eyebrow.

"How are we gonna do that?"

"Improvise." Koena rolled her eyes. "Dark doesn't like listening to and following my complicated plans. She has too big of an ego to allow even me to tell her what to do."

Chat Noir blinked.

 _What._

"Well, let's get this over with-"

"Wait!" Chat grabbed her hand before she could start unlocking the locks. "Won't you be akumatized?"

Koena laughed- actually laughed, before she continued.

"Most of the time, when the balance is in Jeopardy, it's because of magic." She explained. "If I was affected by the magic, would I be able to do my job properly?"

"Uhhh…"

"That's what I thought." She continued moving her hand, unlocking the locks. "As soon as we're through this door, Dark is going to take control. Whatever you do- do not give into one of her challenges."

"Okay…?"

Koena unlocked the last lock and opened the door, letting them both through quickly before she shut it behind him. It was still dark outside, the akumas still littering the air and preventing the sun or moon from shining.

Chat Noir watched Koena's eyes to see the change. The purple eye remained there for only a moment before red started to seep into it from seemingly nowhere, making the eye fuschia. A sort of dark light seemed to lightly encompass her body, making it harder to see her even with his night vision. She turned to look at him, smirking.

"You ready, for some fun?" She asked, popping her knuckles with a strange delight before shaking her hands out.

"Uhhh…"

"What's wrong?" Koena leaned towards him, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Don't tell me that this time's Chat Noir is a scaredy-cat."

"No!" He exclaimed. Koena leaned back.

"Good. Now-" She reached behind her and drew out her sword, swirling it around with practiced ease before splitting it into two. She did a few cool tricks before putting the swords away, kneeling down into a running start position. "Let's kick some akuma butt!"

She took off towards the building opposite of them- faster than Chat Noir had ever seen anyone before. Using her speed, she ran up the wall and landed on the edge of the building. She turned around, smirking down at him cockily with her hands on her hips.

"Are you coming or what, scaredy-cat?"

"I'm not a scaredy-cat." Chat Noir growled, using his staff to launch himself to the top of the building- right next to her.

"Where would Wifi be?" She asked, almost bored.

"Probably looking for Ladybug." He admitted, remembering her reason for akumatization. To his astonishment, Koena rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Come on, scaredy-cat, I'll race you to the Eiffel Tower." And then she took off running.

"Uh- Wait!" He yelled after her, bringing out his staff and using it to propel himself across the rooftops. He struggled to keep up with her, and was out of breath when he finally met her at the top.

"What? Too fast for you?" She asked, tapping her winged boots. "And these things are supposed to help me moderate my speed. Oh well."

"Oh-Oh well?!" He asked, eyes wide.

Koena was right- this conscious was a completely different person.

And not necessarily one that he liked.

How did she deal with it for all these years?!

"No sign of Wifi-girl." Koena continued, practically ignoring him. "Nope, wait- she's over there. Let's go, scaredy-cat!"

"My name's Chat Noir." He grumbled, taking a few more breaths before he followed her.

There Lady Wifi was- looking around the rooftops. However, there were a few things… well, different.

For one, she also had her fox tail, only it was now black and tipped white. Same with her fox ears, and her Miraculous had changed from a fox tail to a wifi signal.

"You!" She exclaimed, turning around. Chat Noir was glad to see that, unlike other akumas, the communication mask wasn't on 24/7. Instead, it flickered on and off for thirty-second intervals. "Where's Ladybug?!"

"Somewhere where you'll never find her!" Chat Noir replied as Koena drew her swords, splitting them apart and spinning them around. She was awfully relaxed, and looked out-right bored.

"Let's get this over with, Wifi-girl." She said, getting into a relaxed fighting stance. "The faster this is over with, the faster I can kick Hawkmoth's butt."

Lady Wifi ignored Koena and looked straight at Chat Noir with a smirk. "Gabriel wants you."

Chat froze.

"He wants you to come home to him." She said, walking forward. "He misses you, Adrien. And he knows that you know that you don't stand a chance."

His hold tightened on his staff.

He couldn't let his emotions get the best of him. If he did, there was a chance that he could be force-akumatized again.

"Don't you want to go home?" Lady Wifi took another step forward. "The world is a dark and scary place after all. He-"

Koena suddenly rushed forward, any joking that might've been seen in her eyes long gone, replaced by a hot, yet harshly cold anger. She swung her two swords at Lady Wifi with almost lightning speed, Lady Wifi barely managing to dodge the swords before she hopped on a speed up icon and started flying around, observing them.

Koena spared a glance at Chat Noir, completely serious.

"Don't show your weakness. It makes you vulnerable, which is why I was chosen to fight instead of Light." Koena tilted her head from side to side, observing the sky around Lady Wifi. "You go ahead and cataclysm something, scaredy-cat, I'll take care of her."

Chat Noir now knew how Ladybug felt whenever he proposed a stupid plan with a bunch of puns.

"Wait-" It was too late, Koena was running around, launching herself off of buildings in order to attack Lady Wifi, who dodged and tried to fire attacks back of her own.

It was speed against speed.

As Chat Noir observed them, he realized a few things.

First, was that Koena always made sure to land a certain way- she didn't ever land on her knees, or roll around on the roof. It was always on her feet. Even if it would probably be better for her to land a different way, she landed on her feet.

The second, was that Koena also couldn't protect herself, even though she had a shield. It was almost like she was completely inexperienced with the thing. This was proven when Lady Wifi used a clicker icon to grab a car and drag it over to her. Chat Noir had moved then, using his staff to deflect it as Koena had braced for the impact.

The third was that this plan was definitely not going to work.

He looked around, trying to find out why she was here. This was nowhere near where Ladybug had been seen last by an akuma, or before this whole mess started.

Surely there must be a reason.

Then he saw it.

 _The wifi tower._

He looked around at where the other towers should be, but they were all down.

He smirked, rushing over to the tower, holding his hand out.

"Cataclysm!"

But just before he reached it, Koena tackled him, the two of them rolling out of the way as Lady Wifi shot a bunch of pause and lock icons at them.

Koena hissed when they stopped, stumbling as she got up. Chat Noir was surprised at how much damage she had taken, despite him taking the brunt of the fall.

"Dang-it." She muttered, looking down at her scrapes. Only a few of them were bleeding, but she looked as though she had been shot with a bullet. "We gotta finish this up, scaredy-cat. I'm going in."

"Wait-"

"Your stupid questions can be answered later- we need to go now."

"Fine." Chat Noir got up- his cataclysm hadn't been used yet, by some miracle. Koena rushed into battle, but her run was a little wobbly and her stance off.

' _What is up with her?'_ He asked himself as he decided to take a much more subtle approach towards taking down the signal, slipping amongst the rooftops in the darkness. ' _Surely falling couldn't have been that bad.'_

He was soon close enough that he could reach out and touch it, but froze when Lady Wifi turned toward him.

How did she know that he was there?!

It was then that he noticed the many live stream icons that had previously been hidden in the darkness- far enough out of his vision that he had to really look to see it.

He leapt away before she could hit him, and Koena quickly moved to distract her again. He couldn't directly attack the wifi tower, which meant that he had to attack something that would break it all the same.

He looked around and saw it target- the electric box it was connected to.

 _And it was unguarded._

He quickly brought his hand down and upon it as his three-minute mark beeped, and the whole line crumbled, turning the symbol off. Lady Wifi fell from the sky, her powers no longer being able to activate. Koena caught her before she crashed onto the ground, and Chat Noir ran over to her as she broke the phone. The phone let the akuma out and Chat Noir reached up to grab it with his bell.

It was a weird feeling, and he had never done it before. The akuma fought against the confines of his bell, fluttering around and shaking it. He re-attached the bell to his suit as Koena lay Alya down, breathing heavy.

"What-" Alya paused, looking around with wide eyes. Chat Noir crouched down in front of her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah…" She nodded.

"Can you transform?"

"Trixx needs some berries." She admitted as Trixx floated out.

"Koena! It's you!" He exclaimed. Koena nodded, a bit dazed.

"Of course it's me, couldn't have been anyone else." She boasted.

"Then I'll carry you to Master Fu's, we'll explain everything there." He said, leaning down to help her up. Alya accepted it, looking around.

"Where's Ladybug?"

"She's…. Unconscious." He decided on. "But she's going to be okay."

"You better be telling the truth, Chat."

"Cat's honor." He said lightly in a joking tone. It felt good to joke a little, some stress leaving him. Koena stood up, hissing in pain.

"I'll go and get those darned sleeping supplies." She muttered. Chat Noir blinked when he saw that her eyes were purple and red once more, but he nodded anyway.

"Be back soon?"

"Yup." She nodded and started walking away, taking a fire escape down to the ground.

"Who's she?"

"Koena. The great guardian of the guardians." He said with some pride. "She's here to help."

The two minute warning beeped, and Chat Noir quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, using his staff to go and take them back to Master Fu's house.


	5. Chapter 5

Shandy: Reviews!

 **SailorTardis498: Thank you!**

Candy: Enjoy the story!

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"Wait, so let me get this straight."

Adrien was paying attention to the conversation in the kitchen, but he was also focused on Marinette.

Koena hadn't returned yet, but they had only been home for about ten minutes. His transformation had expired when Alya went in to talk to Master Fu.

' _I hope she wakes up soon.'_ He thought, brushing a stray hair out of her face.

"You gave us the Miraculous; Adrien, Marinette, Chloe, and Nino are my teammates; Marinette is unconscious because she saved Adrien, Hawkmoth is Adrien's father; and this Koena girl is thousands of years old, has MPD because of a sickness, and only joined the fight now because Gabriel disrupted the balance." Alya summarized.

"Yes." Master Fu admitted.

"This is a lot to take in…"

"I understand if you need time. Adrien, you might as well come in, I need to check on Marinette again." Adrien blinked, and then sighed, standing up.

"I'll see you soon, milady." He promised, kissing his fingertips and them placing them on her cheek. Then he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked into the kitchen as Fu walked out. Alya was sitting on the floor with some tea in her hands, looking up at him.

"You look exhausted." She said after giving him a once-over. Adrien laughed a bit, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, I probably am."

"How come you haven't fallen asleep yet?"

"Too much on my mind, I guess." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm worried about Marinette."

"Hmn…" Alya sighed, and they sat in silence until she spoke again. "You know, a year or so back Marinette had the biggest crush on you."

"Wh-What?" Adrien blinked, and Alya laughed.

"Still oblivious." She commented, taking a sip from her tea. "She's liked you ever since you gave her that Umbrella on the second day of school."

His heart soared.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Alya snickered. "Oh, man, the two of you were in a love square for a while there. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner."

"Wh-What did she like about me?" Adrien asked.

"Your kindness, eyes, personality, oh, I could go on and on- she found _everything_ about you attractive." Alya said, almost annoyed. "I'd bring up some faults that you might have, and she'd tell me why she loved it! It was annoying, because you were completely oblivious to it and no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't tell you."

"But…" Alya frowned. "There was a point where all of it started to stop. I don't know what happened, but it was almost like she gave up. The problem is that that's not like her- Marinette doesn't give up."

"I… I think I might know." Adrien admitted, glancing at the doorway to the other room. "Master Fu and Tikki told me of a special power that a Ladybug can only use on Chat Noir, no matter what their relationship and feelings for each other are. I guess it has something to deal with Plagg and Tikki, I'm still confused about it."

"Go on." Alya encouraged.

"Well… It's used when a Chat Noir gets akumatized, and only in emergencies." He shifted a bit, blushing. "To purify the akuma, she had to kiss me."

"Wait- LadyNoir became cannon and no one told me?!" Alya asked.

"I-I guess? I don't know." Adrien ran a hand through his hair. "But she lost her transformation and a lot of energy and basically fainted on me, and I panicked, and then Tikki told me to come here. Apparently, it also works when I'm under the influence of an akuma, because she's kissed me before to get me out of Dark Cupid's spell."

"When they found the specific spell, Master Fu told me that Marinette didn't believe it. More specifically because the spell is also called 'True Love's Kiss'..." Adrien coughed, his face heating up a little more. "But he said that she eventually started warming up to the idea, so… maybe it's that?"

"Huh." Alya blinked, taking in the info. "That's interesting." They sat in silence before she spoke again. "How many sides of Koena have you met?"

"All three." Adrien replied.

"What're they like?"

"Well…" Adrien sat up a bit, thinking. "Light is kinda like how Marinette used to act around me, but without the crush. She seems really nice, I think I like her the most out of the three. Koena is like a mixture of the two, but she's used to being in control and communicating with people, unlike the other two. And then Dark…" Adrien paused. "Imagine a female Kim, only with super-speed, a kick-butt sword, and a lot more OP."

"Ooooo." Alya laughed. "Oh, man, I can't wait to meet her. This is gonna be fun."

Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, so maybe not that fun, but still."

Adrien chuckled and shook his head. "If you say so."

It seemed that the world had decided to let something be in their favor, because it was right then that Koena walked in. She had bandages around her knees and forearms where she had scraped herself, and a bandage on her cheek. Her eyes expressed how tired she was, as she dropped a duffel bag onto the floor with a loud thud. Plagg, Trixx, and Tikki seemed to immediately have their attention on her.

"There you go." She said. "There should be two other air-mattresses, some toiletries, common medication, blankets, pillows…" She trailed off, walking over to where Master Fu was with a small limp. "Fu, I'll take over from here."

"No, you should-"

"It's just a few scrapes." Her red and purple eyes showed determination as she moved, sitting down beside Marinette and pulling out her side-bag. Now they could no longer see her.

Alya and Adrien glanced at each other before standing up, walking into the room to observe.

Koena was pulling out bottles of herbs and spices, as well as a few liquids. Every now and again she'd check Marinette's pulse, temperature, and stomach, muttering names that they had never heard of before as she did so.

"...Koena?" Adrien asked. She looked up at him and Alya and smiled.

"Hello Adrien, Alya. It's a pleasure to meet this time's fox. You chose well, Trixx."

"Haven't I always?" The kwami asked with a small laugh. "Always the tricky ones, who know how to see through a trick or a lie, spot a secret, and can cause some mischief herself."

Koena rolled her eyes, and then closed them, breathing in deeply. When they opened again, Light was out. She smiled.

"Why, hello there Trixx."

"Hello to you to." Trixx then floated away and landed on top of Alya's head, matching the same exact pose that Plagg was. Plagg scowled.

"Copycat."

"You're the cat here, Plagg. I'm a fox."

Plagg mumbled something incoherent and returned to eating his cheese. Adrien and Alya sat down on the floor by Marinette's feet, watching as Koena moved with precision and expertise with her herbs, obviously having had years of practice.

Adrien glanced at Alya, having had experienced seeing it before. The young reporter looked mystified, but also critical- probably trying to figure out what each one was and what it did, as well as how it worked. Based on her expression though, it didn't look like she was making any progress.

After a few minutes, Koena seemed to finish, placing her herbs back into her bag, and then turning to face them.

"Th-There, that should do." She said, smiling. "At least for now. Do any of you need it?"

"I think that I'm good." Adrien said with a smile.

"How about you, Alya?"

"I guess?" Alya half asked. "I feel fine."

"I-If you're sure." Koena continued.

"I think that you should rest." Fu said.

"Oh, I'm fine-"

"Are you really?"

Something seemed to flash in Koena's eyes, and suddenly they were red and purple. "I'm fine, Fu. Really. You don't need to worry about me. This isn't the worst that could happen."

"What's going on?" Alya asked in a soft whisper.

"I don't know." Adrien admitted.

"Koena's being a toughie. Like usual." Plagg said unhelpfully as Tikki flew up and began to side with Master Fu on whatever they were arguing about.

"Does it take a lot energy to heal?" Alya asked, worried.

"I don't think so." Adrien said, furrowing his eyebrows. "It didn't seem like that was the case, anyway."

"Oh, it's not that." Trixx said as the arguing in front of them became a separate conversation entirely.

"Then what is it?"

"Not my place to tell, kit." Trixx replied to Alya's question with a smirk. "Nor is it anyone's really, unless she wants to tell you."

"This is confusing."

"Tell me about it."

"-told you I don't need to rest, and that's final." Koena said, standing up. She swayed only slightly when she did, but she seemed to ignore it, pressing on. "We need to talk about what we're doing next, anyway. We still need Queen Bee and Carapace."

"Queen Bee next." Master Fu sighed after a moment. "We'll need her if we're going to get Carapace.

"Queen Bee, huh? What's her akumatized abilities?"

"Basically the same as Ladybug's, but reverse." Alya spoke up before Adrien could. "Has an Anti-charm that gives her a really useful object. When Ladybug and Chat Noir fought her, it was this really big and OP sword."

"Light next, then. Dark wouldn't be able to help, she can't defend." Koena muttered to herself, closing her eyes.

"Alya, we need you to set up illusions of all of us in several different places, so you won't be fighting." Master Fu admitted. "That way we confuse Hawkmoth. Adrien, do you feel up to this?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Adrien said.

"Well I'm not!" Plagg complained from on top of his head. "I still haven't had any Camembert!"

"I got some of your cheese." Koena piped up. "It's in the tupperware in the bag."

"Remind me to never complain about you again." Plagg said, instantly zooming over to the bag. Koena rolled her eyes and turned away from them, lost in thought.

"So what illusions exactly will you need?" Alya asked.

"Well, five for each of us, including Koena." Master Fu admitted, waving Alya over as he stood up and walked toward a cupboard. "Let me show you what I've been thinking of doing."

Left alone, Adrien scooted closer to Marinette. He watched her for a bit, smiling. He had never seen her look so relaxed before- and a soft smile was on her lips almost naturally, as though she was always meant to smile. He reached down and gently grabbed her hand, moving it up to his lips to kiss the back of it.

"Don't worry, milady." He said softly, squeezing the hand a bit as tears came to his eyes. "We'll get Chloe and Nino back, and then…"

' _Father…'_

"We'll come to that point when we get to it." He decided. "And then… maybe I can finally ask you out to get ice cream. Or a smoothie- you love smoothies, right?"

He sighed a bit, squeezing her hand again before letting it back down on the floor gently.

Just how messed up had his life been?

"You really love her. I never thought that I'd see another Ladybug and Chat Noir act like this."

Adrien jumped, looking up and to his left to see Koena. Her mitch-matched eyes twinkled with familiarity as she sat down beside him.

"What do you mean?"

"Most Ladybugs and Chat Noirs don't end up in a love square or anything like that, and most don't have a relationship as strong as yours." She smiled. "Most end up as really close friends- sometimes it's even brother and sister that are chosen. True loves kiss works for all kinds of love- friends, family, romantic…" She trailed off, almost longingly.

"The last time I saw one like this was back when I was first chosen. They were married, but unable to bear a child because of an injury."

"What were they like?" Adrien asked.

"Well…" Koena leaned, back, trying to remember. "Elizabeth was the sweetest thing you'd ever met, and the most serious too. She never raised her voice, much less was ever truly angry. The few times that it was that way, it was because someone had gotten hurt breaking the rules. Adam, on the other hand…" She shook her head.

"He was such a goofball. But he was also the one who was willing to fight and act without a second thought. He was very emotional, and often needed Elizabeth to help him see reason amongst his emotions, just as Elizabeth needed him to help her stand up for herself." Koena shook her head. "I spent most of my time with them, learning and experiencing new things…"

"Wow… what about the others?" Adrien asked.

"Most hated each other outside of the mask." Koena admitted. "It always caused a huge headache. There's only been two Chat Noirs and Ladybugs that have hated each other in masks, and that's because they were on opposite sides."

"Did it work out in the end?" Adrien asked.

"Most of the time, it did." Koena admitted. "Sometimes they let things get the best of them and pull them apart, but that's rare. Still…" She smiled at Marinette. "I haven't quite seen one like this in a long time."

"So…"Adrien paused. "Do you think it'll work out?"

"I don't know." She admitted, shrugging. "But from past experience, just follow your heart. You'll know what to do." Adrien nodded in understanding, and Koena stood up, Adrien following her.

"Well, I have to go and re-wrap some of these, and then you and Light can go after Chloe." She said, and Adrien looked and realized that, in fact, her bandages had turned red with blood.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked. ' _Those shouldn't be bleeding that badly. They were only scrapes.'_

"I'm fine, nothing to worry about." Koena waved off. "You spend some more time with Marinette, I'll be done in a few."

"If you're sure…"

"Positive." Koena nodded and turned around, walking away. Adrien sat down again and sighed.

"Things seem to be getting only more complicated, milady."


	6. Chapter 6

"You ready?"

"Yeah." Chat Noir nodded.

"Second we get out there, Light's gonna be in charge." Koena said, inspecting her shield. Adrien was a bit surprised when Koena didn't pull out the sword(s), but he didn't comment.

"I figured."

"Then let's go." Koena opened the door and they stepped out. Adrien watched as the red eye turned fuchsia, and a white aura seemed to encompass her, almost making her look like a beacon in the darkness. She glanced around nervously, situating the shield on her right arm.

"Wh-Why don't you lead the way?" She asked, smiling up at him nervously. "I'll follow."

"Okay." Chat Noir nodded, jumping up to the rooftops. Koena followed, shrieking a bit when she tripped over herself, but she caught herself before she could fall.

"What's the plan?" He asked as he began to jog, Koena easily keeping up with him.

"W-Well…" She trailed off. "I-I'll distract her and you get her object I guess…? I-I don't know much else, I didn't come up with the plan…"

"Don't worry." He said, giving her a smile. "We'll save Chloe."

"I-I hope so." Koena bit her lip nervously. "Wh-Where would she be?"

"Probably at her father's hotel." Chat Noir mused, turning left. Koena stumbled for a bit, and then caught up with him. Chat Noir sent her a worried glance. "Are you okay?"

"F-Fine." She said, sending him an encouraging smile. "I'm just not one for fighting is all."

"Then why were you sent out?" Chat Noir asked, leaping over a gap. Koena followed, stumbling a bit when she landed, but still keeping up with him.

"W-Well, you see, we each have different strengths a-and weaknesses." She said. "D-Dark is more for direct and up front c-conflict, whereas I'm m-more defensive." She dodged a chimney and climbed up a new story, accepting Chat Noir's hand when he made it up the wall before her.

"D-Dark's strengths are my weaknesses, a-and vise-versa. I-I was chosen because a defence th-that can't be beaten easily would be a-a challenge, and Anti-bug sounded l-like the type of akuma that a-accepted any challenge thrown h-her way." They continued on until they were standing on a rooftop across from the hotel. Chat Noir pulled out his staff and opened up his camera, scanning the building.

"That's interesting." He muttered, closing the camera. "That's nice to know, and Anti-bug's not there."

"That's because she's right behind you."

Koena shrieked, spinning around and holding up her shield as Chat Noir held his staff out and pointed it at Anti-bug as he spun around.

Like Lady Wifi, she had a difference to her outfit. It had the reverse color-scheme of Ladybug's outfit, but it was done in the design of Queen-Bee's. She had black entenna's in her high ponytail by her hair comb miraculous, wings on her back and a yoyo matching the design on her outfit in her hand. The only thing that was still the same were Anti-bug's earrings.

Anti-bug twirled her yoyo around, Hawkmoth's communication mask briefly appearing before it disappeared again. "You're father wants you back home, Adrien." She said. "He said that you're mother will be there. Don't you want to see her again?"

"Chloe, this isn't you!" Chat Noir exclaimed, ignoring her request completely. "Fight against him, Chloe! You're better than this- I know you are!"

Anti-bug threw her yoyo at him, and a spike came out in his direction. Koena moved instantly and raised her shield, which expanded as Anti-bug continued to try and attack.

"Y-You know…" She said, smiling at him. "I-It's okay to talk about this, this is a lot to take in. If-If you need a listening ear, just ask, ok? It's our weaknesses that make us s-strong."

Chat Noir found his confidence growing rapidly at Koena's supportive words, and he nodded at her.

"Right."

"N-Now, we just need the earrings, right?" Koena asked, and Chat Noir nodded. "W-Well, we're by the edge, so you sh-should try sneaking around from b-behind."

"Will do." Chat Noir nodded and, careful that he wasn't seen, slipped down to climb around and behind Anti-bug.

"Stop being scaredy-cats." Anti-bug called. She threw her yoyo so that it would wrap around the shield, and then tugged. Koena stood her ground, grunting a bit as she kept a strong hold of her shield. With a little difficulty, she slammed the edge of her shield into the ground, pushing it through the roof tiles and keeping it steady. Then, removing one hand from holding onto the shield, she reached into her satchel and pulled out a black potion.

She bit her lip as she swirled the potion around experimentally. She peeked around the shield to see that Chat Noir hadn't appeared behind Anti-bug yet, and then hid behind the shield again. She lifted the potion bottle up to her mouth and bit off the lid, allowing gas of sorts to escape from the bottle. Then, once again making sure that Chat Noir was not there, she threw the potion at Anti-bug. The potion landed by Anti-bug's feet, and the akuma stared at the black liquid there in confusion.

"You think some ink is going to scare me?!" Anti-bug asked, laughing. "How very heroic."

Chat Noir climbed up and onto the chimney behind Anti-bug, so he was the one who noticed what the liquid was doing.

It was like an acid, but it formed a perfect circle circle around her, and was completely black. Then, just as Anti-bug was about to move, the roof beneath her gave way, forcing her to fall into the hole that was created. Instead of falling all the way through, though, she stopped falling once it was a little past her shoulders.

The shock of the fall caused Anti-bug to let go of her yoyo, but it didn't remain that way for long. Anti-bug quickly took to lifting herself out of the hole, but Chat Noir took that chance to leap down and steal her earings. He broke the earrings and the akuma came out, allowing Chat Noir to capture it in his bell.

When he placed the bell back on his suit, it seemed to shift on it's own, responding to the akumas inside of it.

Chat Noir watched as Koena smiled kindly down at Chloe and helped her out of the hole, greeting Pollen politely as she did so.

"Are you okay?" He asked, walking over to her.

"I'm fine." Chloe said, turning her nose up.

"We should get you to Master Fu." Koena said softly.

"Master Fu? Who is that- some old janitor?" Chloe asked, scoffing. Koena's eyes widened a bit before she tried again with her soft, light voice.

"No. Master Fu is the man who gave you your Miraculous. He chose you, and is very wise. We're staying at his house for the moment."

"Why can't I just go back to my daddy's hotel?" Chloe asked, scoffing and rolling her eyes.

"B-Because Master Fu has protection- akumas can't see anyone inside or go inside." Koena answered, shrinking on herself a bit.

"Well, I don't-"

"Chloe." Chat Noir's stern voice stopped whatever Chloe was going to say next. "You should give Koena and Master Fu more respect than that."

"Why? Respect is so boring." Chloe drawled.

"I'll show you." Chat Noir said. Chloe stood a step away from them and stomped her foot.

"No. I'm not going. Pollen and I can manage everything on our own." She huffed. Chat Noir raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. Then he leaned down, picked Chloe up, and slung her over his shoulder.

"Very well, then."

"What are you doing?! Let me down you mangy alley cat!" Chloe exclaimed, lightly hitting Chat Noir's back. "Ladybug won't be happy when she finds out about this! Nor will my daddy! Let me down!"

"Sh-Shouldn't we let her down?" Koena asked.

"No, she won't come with us if I do. Let's just go."

"A-Alright." Koena nodded, and they began the trek back to Master Fu's.

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When they had arrived, Chloe had given up on fighting them, settling for folding her arms and pout-scowling in displeasure. Koena opened the door for them, and they walked in.

"You're back!" Alya exclaimed happily, rushing away from the window she had been looking out from to talk to them. Chat Noir set Chloe down gently, and the blonde promptly sat on the floor, still upset. Alya ignored the drama queen. "Something weird's going on."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Koena asked. Alya pointed out the window.

"See for yourself."

Koena looked out the window, and as she did so the light aura around her seemed to fade away. In the reflection of the glass, Chat Noir could see that her eyes were once again purple and red.

"We couldn't see this from the outside." She said. "Something's wrong."

"The akumas might be responding to Marinette." Master Fu admitted, walking into the room and gesturing at the still passed-out girl. "According to my clock, it's been a day and a half since we last woke up. They are seeking her to be purified."

"This isn't good." Koena turned to Marinette, thinking. "She shouldn't be up yet, not for a few more hours at least- why don't we strengthen the house's defences before we go to sleep, and take turns keeping watch. I don't like the way that they're reacting."

"Who's gonna take the first watch?" Alya asked.

"I will." Koena said instantly as Chat Noir moved to volunteer. "I need to help Marinette and Master Fu anyway. You must be exhausted."

"But, you must be exhausted too." Chat Noir pointed out.

"I'm used to it." Koena brushed off. "I'll take the first one."

"Fine." He sighed and released his transformation. "Let's go to sleep-"

"Adrikins?!" They all winced at her high-pitched voice.

"Uhhh…" Adrien hesitated for a moment. "Hi?"

"I'll talk to her." Master Fu said. "Alya, why don't you make dinner?" At the mention of food, a chorus of stomach grumbles echoed throughout the room.

"Good idea." Alya laughed a bit. "I'll do that."


	7. Chapter 7

Shandy: Oh, Candy, look!

Candy: What?

Shandy: Reviews!

 **Guest: Ahh~! I'm glad you like it so much! Don't worry, I'm not stopping now. ;3**

 **CCGK23: I'm glad you like it!**

Candy: Enjoy the chapter!

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Adrien couldn't find it in himself to fall asleep, instead just laying there, eyes looking at Marinette's still unconscious form. Koena was sitting by the door, inspecting her equipment. Chloe had fainted after Master Fu had told her what was going on, and Alya was fast asleep on her mattress. Master Fu had fallen asleep on the pile of pillows again, and the four kwamis were all huddled together in the corner.

Adrien sighed, focusing his attention back on Marinette.

' _When will you wake up?'_ He asked her in his thoughts. ' _I'm worried, Mari. I need you. Everyone says that it's going to be okay, but… just because I've accepted what's been going on, doesn't mean that it's okay. It should be okay, though. How am I going to survive after this? My father is the supervillain that's been terrorizing Paris for so long now. He's sure to be arrested, and what then? Just continue on with a normal life? I can't do that- not after all of this. Nothing is ever going to be normal again, is it? It'll be okay in the end, right?'_

Adrien froze for a moment when he heard someone shifting, and he glanced over at Koena. Her back was completely toward him and Marinette, almost as though she was giving them privacy.

Adrien glanced around once before shifting off of his bed, moving instead to lay down next to Marinette. He brushed his hand briefly on her forehead, having fixed any stray hairs earlier.

' _Please wake up soon.'_ He thought, quietly kissing her forehead. ' _Please.'_

His eyes began to feel heavy, and he wrapped an arm around her as he fell asleep.

' _I can't lose you too.'_

Koene glanced over her shoulder at them a few minutes later, smiling knowingly. She turned back to her shield, continuing her inspection of it even when she heard Adrien begin to lightly purr.

' _Are you sure that's a good idea?'_ Light asked her. ' _Letting Adrien sleep next to her?'_

"Two halves of a whole work best together." Koena spoke softly. "That's why we're here in this single body. He wouldn't have been able to sleep any other way, anyway."

' _Which reminds me.'_ Dark spoke. ' _What are we gonna do when we have Carapace back?'_

' _We go after Hawkmoth.'_ Koena replied in her head with surety. Her hands moved into fists.

' _But what about Adrien?'_ Light asked. ' _He's already devastated enough- shouldn't we help him?'_

' _Yes!'_ Dark cheered. ' _It's about time that man got what was coming for him.'_

' _Adrien will be fine.'_ Koena replied, glancing over at Adrien and Marinette once more. They had shifted a bit, just beginning to cuddle with each other. ' _He might never truly heal, but he'll have friends and family to help him along the way.'_

' _If you say so.'_ Light said hesitantly. Koena turned back to her shield, placing it off to the side and picking up her sword next.

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When Adrien woke up, it was because there was a heavy weight on his chest, and people were talking in hushed whispers.

"Leave them be- Queen Bee and I can take care of Carapace."

"Are you sure? What about the akuma?"

"He needs a break- I have a container that should properly hold the akuma, and she'll be waking up soon anyway. It shouldn't take long."

"If you say so."

"Come on, Chloe."

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming."

Some footsteps, and then the door opened and closed. Adrien groaned a bit, wanting to go back to sleep. The warm weight on his chest certainly helped, and he purred. He fell into a light, peaceful doze for a few minutes before the weight on top of him shifted a bit, and Adrien opened his right eye, and then both of his eyes in slight shock.

A head of slightly messed up blue/black hair rested just on top of his heart, her right arm wrapped around his middle, and her left hand holding onto his. She was still asleep, that soft smile on her face as she lay there. Adrien smiled and lifted his head up a bit to kiss the top of her head.

"My lady." He breathed, most of his love and affection for her spoken aloud in those two, small words. The sleeping Marinette seemed to giggle, tightening her hold on him.

"Silly… kitty…" She murmured. Adrien's heart jumped excitedly in his chest, and he looked down at her.

"Marinette?" He asked.

"Sleep…" She replied with a small sigh. "Good…"

Adrien chuckled, tightening his hold on her. "You're adorable, Princess. I can't wait to talk to you." She seemed to settle down again, so Adrien took the time to look around. He couldn't see Master Fu, but Koena had clearly left, along with Chloe. Alya was still fast asleep, draped across her mattress and lightly snoring.

"Finally awake from your cat-nap?" Adrien blinked, and Plagg was suddenly in his line of vision, smirking down at him with a cheshire-cat grin.

"Good morning, Plagg." Adrien greeted, rolling his eyes, unaware of how Marinette seemed to tense. "How'd you sleep in your cat-pile?"

"Good, besides the fact that someone wouldn't stop putting their 'beautiful, luscious, majestic' tail in my face!"

"I was asleep!" Trixx's indignant cry fell on deaf ears as Tikki flew over, giggling.

"Oh, you liked all the warmth, Plagg." Tikki said, hugging the other kwami.

"If you say so, bug."

"And how'd you sleep, Tikki?"

"I can't wait for Marinette to wake up, I'm ready to do this whenever she is!" Tikki continued. "I miss seeing the sunshine, and I'm sure that Paris will be better off as soon as we finish taking care of this." Tikki flew closer to Adrien. "Speaking of, I've been meaning to tell you this, but I'm sorry that Hawkmoth ended up being your father, Adrien."

Adrien winced, holding onto Marinette tight.

"It's okay." he said, smiling a bit. "It might take a while, but I'll be fine eventually."

"You know, we're open to talk to if you ever need to talk to anyone." Tikki continued.

"I know." Adrien sighed a bit. "I just figured that it might be best if I waited until after everything's taken care of."

"If that's what you want, Adrien." Marinette shifted a bit, and Adrien looked down instinctively as Marinette looked at him with her wide, but tired, blue-bell eyes.

"A-Adrien?" Marinette asked, her voice a little hoarse. A grin grew across his face as he took in those beautiful blue eyes that he hadn't seen in about two, maybe three, days.

"Marinette." He breathed, completely awed. "You're awake."

"Uhh…" Marinette blinked, and then nodded. "Yeah."

"You're awake!" He held onto her as he sat up, her now sitting in his lap. He pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh my gosh- Marinette, you're actually awake!"

"Wh-Why wouldn't I be?" She asked hesitantly.

"Marinette, you've been out for about three days now." Tikki said.

"Th-Three days?!" She exclaimed. Adrien looked up when Master Fu walked into the room, smiling at them.

"Marinette, Adrien, I'm glad to see that you two are awake." He said. "Why don't you two come over and get some breakfast? We can explain everything there."

"Alright." Adrien pulled away from Marinette a bit, smiling at her. "You want some breakfast?"

"Uhhh…." Marinette blinked, an adorable blush gracing her cheeks as she nodded. "Y-Yeah. Breakfast sounds great." She got off of him and he helped her up, leading her to the kitchen.

"I was worried about you for a moment there, Marinette." Master Fu admitted as he reached into the fridge to pull out some milk. He set it down on the counter. "Do you like cereal?"

"Yes."

"I haven't had some in a while." Adrien admitted. "But how are you gonna do that?"

"I have cups." Master Fu said wisely. He reached down and pulled out some cheerios, as well as some spoons and the cups that he had mentioned. Marinette and Adrien both made their own cups of cereal, Marinette blushing madly as they ate in silence.

"Now, why don't I explain it to you now, and then you can ask questions when I'm done." Master Fu suggested, and Marinette nodded as she picked up another spoonful. "How much do you remember?"

"Last thing I remember was being on the Eiffel tower, and Chat had appeared behind me. The rest is a blurr."

"Ahh." Master Fu nodded. "I guessed correctly then. So, you have no memory of what happened?"

"No."

Adrien's heart twisted painfully in his chest, and when Master Fu looked about ready to ask him if he would be willing to tell her, he stuffed a spoonful of cereal into his mouth, embarrassed. Amusement twinkled in Master Fu's eyes.

"Well, Adrien, if you aren't willing to tell her, then I will have to use my own rendition of what happened-" Adrien almost choked, but he quickly chewed up his cereal as Marinette gave him a confused look, waving his hands.

"No, no, I can tell her!" He insisted, blushing.

"Very well then." The amusement never left Fu's eyes, and Adrien glanced at Marinette before looking down and playing with his cupful of cereal.

"Y-You see, Marinette, uhh…" Adrien swallowed a bit, nervous. "In order for you to properly understand what happened, you should know that I'm, uh, Chat Noir." He didn't dare look up at her to see her response, just going on to continue. "I-I was in my room when my father told me that he wished to talk to me up in his office. Once I was there, he took me through an elevator of sorts and into the roof of out house."

"There, he started talking about how he had been planning to get mom back by using our Miraculouses to gain the ultimate power to have one wish answered. I was completely confused until he transformed in front of me." Adrien breathed a shaky breath, the memories from only a few days ago coming back full force and making him sick to his stomach.

"He asked if I was willing to join him." He heard Marinette's small gasp of surprise, and he looked up at the ceiling, still refusing to look over at her. "I said no, of course, and he sent an akuma after me. I ran as far as I could, but the akuma had absorbed itself in my bell. He started to force an akumatization on me, and then I saw you heading to the tower."

"Father said that a forced akumatization would make me the opposite of who I am, and if that was the case, then I wasn't sure what I would do to you. I followed you to the tower and explained what was going on before telling you to leave. You didn't- you told me that you couldn't leave me. When I realized that you were too stubborn to listen, I tried to leave, but you wouldn't let me. I-I asked why, and…" Adrien swallowed nervously, blushing as he remembered what had happened.

"You… you said that you couldn't, because you loved me." He admitted softly. Marinette gasped again, but he continued. "I tried to tell you that you had to leave, that I couldn't stand it if I hurt you. You-You told me that you knew, and that I wouldn't have to ever again, and then…"

"You kissed." Master Fu supplied unhelpfully. Adrien shot him a light glare, but he continued, ignoring the heat that was on his cheeks and spreading down his neck.

"A-Anyway, after you had passed out, I panicked. Tikki managed to get my attention and explain a few things to me, as well as direct me to Master Fu's house, where he explained things a little more. Then he called for help, and I fell asleep. Then Koena came and helped us with getting Alya, Chloe, and now Nino back. Koena's the true Guardian- she protects the balance and stuff, and is thousands of thousands years old, and… yeah…"

He coughed, finally glancing at her. He looked away when he noticed that she was blushing just as much as he was, and he placed a spoonful of his now slightly soggy cereal into his mouth.

"O-Oh." She stuttered. "A-And all of that happened?"

"Yeah."

"E-Every last detail?"

"There might have been a little more, but I can't really remember what." Adrien admitted. They sat there in silence for a bit, Adrien busying himself with eating his cereal until all that was left was the milk.

"Alya should be waking up soon." Master Fu acknowledged, standing up. "I'll go and make sure that everything is stable before then- you two can talk."

"But-"

"Wait-"

Master Fu walked out before they could protest further, allowing the curtain that separated the two rooms to fall. Adrien hesitantly glanced at Marinette.

"Uhh… I know I've spent a few days with him, but…" Adrien paused. "Is he always like this?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Marinette groaned, face-palming. "I swear, if he wasn't 180-something I would think that he honestly was just a huge shipper-lover guy who likes to make teen's lives complicated."

Adrien outright laughed at that, raising a hand up to his mouth later in case Master Fu heard him. Marinette giggled as well, clearing her throat as her face heated up a bit more.

' _And… que the awkward silence.'_ Adrien thought, reaching a hand up to rub at the back of his neck, not looking at her.

"So…" Marinette coughed a bit, and he looked at her to find her already looking at him. "You're Chat Noir."

"Yes." He nodded.

"And your father is Hawkmoth."

"Yup."

"A-And we kissed." She stuttered cutely. "A-And I basically confessed." He found that he could only nod as they both turned red. It was silent before she spoke again, her voice coming off a little stronger. "W-Well that's not fair."

"Huh?" He blinked, and she continued on.

"I-If we both can't remember kissing each other, then what point is there in kissing?!" She half exclaimed.

"W-Well…" Adrien responded. "W-We could fix that, if you want to." Marinette's face seemed to explode with even more color.

"A-A-Are you s-sure?" She asked. "I-I mean, y-your probably, I-I don't know, disappointed? I-I mean, I'm not disappointed, wh-why would I be, I-I just happened to f-fall in love with the same b-boy twice, b-but that doesn't mean-"

Adrien smiled as she rambled and then leaned in, shutting her up with a swift kiss on the lips.

"Disappointed?" He murmured softly, staring into her bluebell eyes. "I don't think that you could ever be further from the truth. I'm ecstatic, milady. I just wish that my father didn't have to intervene with it."

Marinette seemed to collect herself enough to place her forehead against his and to focus on his words, wrapping her arms around him.

"Adrien…" She muttered, searching his eyes. "Oh, Adrien, my kitty…"

"It's okay." He said, smiling a bit at her in what he hoped was a convincing way.

"No it's not." She said, pulling him into a hug. "And it's okay for it to not be okay, Adrien." Love for her swelled in his eyes as he hugged her back, taking in the smell of flowers and cookies.

"It's okay." He insisted. "It's okay, because we can fix it. And, you're here with me, milady. It's okay."

"It's not." She seemed to slightly protest. "Your father, Adrien- your _father._ How can it be okay when, all this time, it's been your father?"

Adrien didn't respond, preferring to hug her tighter. Marinette ran her hands through his hair soothingly, as well as making soft soothing noises and sweet whispers of all kinds.

Finally, tears seemed to come to his eyes as he replied.

"I don't know."


	8. Chapter 8

They stayed like that for a while until someone knocked on the wood, causing Adrien and Marinette to look up and at Alya, who had a soft but knowing smile on her face.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Koena and Chloe will be here with Nino soon, and I definitely want my turn making sure my best friend is okay."

Adrien and Marinette blushed, and Adrien gave Marinette a tight squeeze before letting her go, allowing her to stand up and walk over to Alya while trying to recollect himself.

"Hi Alya." She said, giving her best friend a hug.

"I'm so glad that you're awake, girl." Alya said, hugging her in return. "I'm surprised I didn't figure it out sooner, but that's okay."

"I wanted to tell you." Marinette admitted. "But Tikki explained how dangerous it could be if anyone knew. I didn't want to put anyone in danger."

"I know that, girl." Alya said, smiling at her. Then she winked. "So, LadyNoir was cannon after all, eh?"

"Alya~!"

"What? It's true!" Alya continued to the blushing Marinette. "You've missed out on quite a lot, I can't wait for you to meet Koena either!"

"Koena, the guardian, right?" Marinette half-asked. "Adrien told me a bit about her…"

"Not a lot, though." Adrien said, standing up and walking over, smiling down at the two girls. "Marinette, there's something different about Koena that you should know before you meet her."

"What's that?"

"Well… she kinda has three different personalities." Alya admitted. Marinette blinked.

"What?"

"I think that I should explain this." Master Fu said, coming in and pulling Marinette aside. Adrien and Alya watched before Alya leaned over to whisper to him.

"You do realize that once this is all over, I'm gonna be chewing you out, right?"

"Huh?"

"Knowing you, your gonna want to date her." Alya continued. "And knowing Marinette, she'll want to as well. And knowing me, I'm gonna want to make sure that my best friend is 100% safe." A wicked glint came into her eyes, and Adrien swallowed. "So, whether I trust you with my life or not, I am going to question you into the ground and then burry you, okay?"

"O-Okay."

"Good." They stood there for a few moments, watching with slight amusement as Plagg and Trixx played tag with each other, Tikki having gone over to talk with Master Fu and Marinette.

Adrien smiled as he watched them talk, relieved that she was awake again.

Things were finally starting to look up.

And then the door got kicked down by a storming blonde in black and yellow.

"Okay, someone better tell me why the flip she passed out or so help me I will impale her the moment she wakes up!" Queen Bee exclaimed, Nino in her arms, and him carrying Koena.

"What happened?" Master Fu asked, walking over as Queen Bee basically dropped Nino on the floor. He caught himself though, holding Koena and showing her to him.

"I don't know, I can't remember most of the fight. She managed to catch the akuma in this jar, though, before it happened."

"What's the damage? And go ahead and lay her down." Master Fu instructed.

"Just a few scrapes." Chloe said, detransforming and throwing her hair over his shoulder. "She was also limping, probably just a sprain. It's nothing big enough to-"

"Of course." Master Fu sighed, looking over at Tikki. "We should have kept her back, or waited."

"Why?" Alya asked.

"Questions later- get me the first-aid kit." Adrien reacted to the order instantly, rushing to the kitchen and grabbing the pack that was visible from on top of the fridge. He opened it as he sat down beside Master Fu, pulling out all sorts of things that he thought that they'd need.

"Tikki…" Marinette paused as Adrien helped Master Fu, Nino too busy staring at them all in shock as Alya went to get some water for Master Fu, and Chloe huffed and sat down on an air-mattress. "What happened?"

"Koena holds a lot of magic." Tikki explained. "She needs that magic in order to keep the balance, it helps with her not being affected by it. However, the universe always seeks balance."

"Balance how?"

"Because she's not affected by magic, she's extremely vulnerable to something else."

"Oh, just spit it out, Tikki." Plagg said, zooming over and crossing his paws. "She can't handle physical wounds. Her body doesn't cope well with them- a few scraps is like someone stabbing her in the side, a sprain is like breaking three bones, and breaking a bone…" He shook his head. "Let's not get into that horror- it only happened once and I do NOT want to go through that again. Haven't you ever wondered why she's wearing armor? She can protect herself, but if someone gets through and hurts her she could die just like that."

"How come you didn't tell us sooner?!" Alya asked as she handed the water to Master Fu. "Move aside, Adrien, I have more first aid knowledge than you."

"But-"

"Don't argue with me."

"We didn't tell you because it's one of her biggest weaknesses." Trixx said as Adrien moved to allow Alya to take his place. "She likes to keep her secrets, just like everyone else."

"But we could have-"

"You couldn't have done anything." Pollen replied. "She's a stubborn one. She wouldn't let anyone worry about her or help her if she didn't have to. Dark's too prideful to ask and Light doesn't like worrying others, so she doesn't mention it."

"What can we do?" Marinette asked.

"Well, for one-" Plagg flew up to her face. "Can you purify the akuma now? They're grating on my nerves."

"How would that help-"

"It'll help you get your mind off of it for one." Plagg cut her off.

"You were out for three days, Marinette." Tikki pointed out. "You need to go out, stretch, and practice anyway. Koena will be okay when we return- promise."

"W-Well…" Marinette smiled at Adrien. "What do you think, kitty?"

"I think…" He admitted after a moment. "That it would be nice to run with my lady again." His smile was a bit strained, seeing as he would rather stay and worry over Koena being okay than go outside, but he wanted some alone time with Marinette too. Marinette smiled back at him, her eyes shining with worry.

"Then let's get going, Adrien."

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Now as Chat Noir and Ladybug, the two of them walked wearily outside. Chat Noir was tense as the kaleidoscope of butterflies flew over, but they didn't land on them. Ladybug took out her yoyo and, although shakily, spun it around a bit. The akumas almost seemed excited to be purified, and even willingly went into the light when Ladybug opened it up.

Chat Noir could only watch her in awe for several moments until he remembered the jar and the two akumas trapped in his bell. He took off his bell and hesitantly shook it, unsure of how else to let the akumas out. His bell rang out loud and clear, and a white light came from the holes before the akumas seemed to materialize out of nowhere, also seeking to be purified. Then Chat Noir opened up the jar, allowing the last butterfly to fly to Ladybug. Ironically, it was also the last butterfly to enter the yoyo. Ladybug smiled at her yoyo and closed it.

"Do… Do you think that I should open it up?" Ladybug asked hesitantly. "I don't know how much it can hold, but I also don't know if they'll just fly back to Hawkmoth or not…"

"Let them go." Chat Noir advised. "As you said- we don't know how much your yoyo can hold. We can take care of all of the akumas later, our true threat is Hawkmoth."

"You're right, Chat." Ladybug smiled up at him, paused, and then stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him on his cheek before going back down, blushing. Chat Noir swore that his face was on fire as Ladybug opened up her yoyo. The Kaleidoscope of white butterflies instantly shot into the air- it was a stark contrast from the blacked out sky that was still full of akuma that hadn't yet come to be purified. The butterflies dispersed in every direction, almost making Chat Noir and Ladybug wish that they could stay.

They stood there in awed silence for a moment before Chat Noir cleared his throat. "So, do you want to run across a few rooftops? Race to the Eiffel Tower?" He asked.

"Could…" Ladybug paused. "Could we go to my house?"

"Of course." Chat Noir said, wrapping an arm around her waist as he leaned in, bravely throwing in a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. "Purrhaps you'd want an escort, my dear princess?"

"You and your silly puns." Ladybug rolled her eyes. "And I think that I should try going their myself, right? I have been out for… three days. I need the practice."

"But of course." Chat Noir nodded and extended his staff, Ladybug swinging her yoyo around as they began to run across the rooftops and toward the bakery. They landed on her rooftop easily, and Ladybug didn't hesitate to open the skylight and climb down. Chat Noir followed her quickly, Ladybug turning on the light.

They observed her room for a moment before Ladybug began to look around. Once she pulled out a box, she opened it up, revealing the dolls that she had made of akumas and themselves.

"After Manon got akumatized, I started locking up the dolls." She admitted, closing the box. "It'll probably be a good idea to take these and hide them away in Master Fu's house."

"Yes." Chat Noir nodded, and Ladybug paused, looking at the trapdoor that led to her room.

"They're not down there." She said after a moment. Chat Noir was unsure of what to say, so he simply nodded. Ladybug took a deep breath, tears gathering in her eyes.

"We'll save them." He said after a moment, walking up to place a hand on her shoulder. Her bluebell eyes turned to look up at him, tears still there. "We'll save all of them."

"Chat…" She closed her eyes, turning to face him completely. "You know that's not true."

"What do you-"

"We won't be able to save your father." She continued. Chat Noir felt his heart squeeze painfully. "We can't save him from the law. What… what are we gonna do when it's over?"

"I'll figure something out." Chat Noir smiled at her, but he could tell that she knew that it was fake.

"No." She said. She reached over and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. "We'll figure something out. We're a team, Chat. And teams don't let their teammates do everything on their own."

"Milady, what-"

"So, I want to know…" Ladybug paused when she realized that she had cut him off, but when he didn't continue, she did. "If maman and papa say yes… would you stay with us?"

"Marinette…"

"We have a spare bedroom, and maman and papa wouldn't care if you decided to help out in the bakery or not. You'd still be able to go to school, and you'd have a roof over your head and food to eat- at least until everything settles down, I wouldn't want to force you to stay if you didn't want to and-"

"Princess…" He chuckled, tears coming to his eyes as he was reminded of just how lucky he was to have her in his life. However, the future was uncertain. They wouldn't know what would happen after the final battle.

But it was nice to know that there was a solution if he needed it.

"You're too good for me." He finally said, drawing her into a hug. "But we can worry about this after we defeat Hawkmoth. Don't worry about me- whatever happens, I'll be fine."

"But-"

"Don't worry about me." Chat Noir insisted. "We need to focus on defeating Hawkmoth."

"I can't help but worry about you." Ladybug muttered softly. "You're the one who all of this affects most, and the guy I love, and my best friend, and my partner, and-"

"Shh." He placed a finger on her lips, stopping her ramble. "There will be more than enough time to worry after this is all over. If we worry now, we'll never be able to beat him. I'll be okay."

"Chat-"

"Repeat after me." Chat Noir interrupted. "I'll. Be. Okay."

"You'll be okay." Ladybug repeated, although he could see it in her eyes that she didn't want to, nor did she believe it.

"I'll be okay." He said again.

"You'll be okay."

"You don't have to worry about me."

"I don't have to worry about you."

"We'll defeat Hawkmoth."

"We'll defeat Hawkmoth."

"My puns are amazing."

"Your puns are-" She stopped herself before she could finish, blinking. Then she glared up at him. "Your puns are stupid, silly chaton."

"You wound me, milady." Chat Noir placed a hand dramatically to his chest, and Ladybug rolled her eyes, a soft smile on her face. He could tell that the weight that was on her shoulders had lifted a bit, if the twinkle in her eye was anything to go by.

"Come on, Adrien." She said, pulling him into one last hug before looking up at her skylight. Chat Noir followed her gaze. "Let's head back to Master Fu's place."

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When they made it back, Carapace, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee had been kicked out and were pacing in front of his door.

"What's the news?" Chat Noir asked as they landed.

"We managed to stop the bleeding and wrap up her foot, but Master Fu kicked us out before anything else. Something about peace and balance and a gong…" Rena reported. "I hope that she'll be okay…"

"What do you think that we should do?" Carapace asked. "Have you talked about facing your your fa- uh, Hawkmoth yet?"

Chat Noir winced at the mention of his father, but he answered anyway. "We've been tackling getting each of you back one at a time. We haven't talked about what we're going to do yet."

Rena Rouge opened her mouth to speak, but her ear twitched. She instantly leaned towards the door. Chat Noir followed as well, having heard the gong.

"What are you-"

"Shhh." Ladybug replied, shutting Queen Bee up. "Let them listen."

The gong rang out three… four… five times. Chat Noir moved so that she could listen through one of the cracks in the door.

Master Fu seemed to be chanting something, as well as shaking something around- perhaps salt or rice. Footsteps walked around, and then Master Fu sat down. He hummed.

"I'm not sure what else I can do." He spoke to himself. A soft hum, and then he could pick up a weak voice.

"You didn't need to do that."

"Yes I did." Some shifting, and then. "Here, drink."

"I'm fine."

"I think we both know that you're not fine."

"Stubborn man."

"That's a weird insult."

"Well it's not like I can call you old when I'm much older." Master Fu chuckled.

"Your humor is still intact I see." Some shuffling, and then a thud and a hiss. "Don't get up. That was a pretty nasty sprain."

"I'm fi-"

"You're about as fine as Adrien right now." He could hear Koena sigh and ignored the look that Rena sent him, pressing himself closer to the door.

"Speaking of, where are they?" She asked.

"I sent them outside." Master Fu replied. "Ladybug took care of the crowding akumas."

"So all that's left his Hawkmoth." Koena sighed again.

"Don't tell me that you're planning on fighting."

"Of course I am. I just have to be careful to not get hit."

"You can't fight." Master Fu insisted. "You'll push yourself too far."

"I know my limit, guardian." A groan, another thud, and a hiss.

"I told you to stay down."

"If Light's gonna even attempt to heal us, then I'm gonna need to sit up." She sighed. "Can't do anything about that foot until I sit up so that I can reach it."

"It's not just your foot, you have multiple scrapes and a few bruises." Master Fu listed, and it sounded like there was some more shifting. "You're not fighting in this condition."

"If we wait any longer, the Miraculous Cure won't be able to fix everything." Koena replied. "Do you think that it's healthy for the Earth to have more than three days of pure darkness? That'll be the last thing to be fixed by the cure, and the first thing kicked off of the list if we stretch it to four days. I'm. Fighting."

"But-"

"Take some advice from your elder, Fu." Koena said softly. "I know what I'm doing."

"Sometimes it doesn't look like that." Koena didn't respond. "Is there, perhaps, something bothering you?"

"Many things bother me." Koena brushed the question off. "I've lived long past all of my friend's lives and have seen gruesome wars come and go. I've seen people go mad from greed and kill themselves trying to get eternal happiness."

"Something else."

"Don't bother. It's something between me, the balance, and the universe." Koena sighed. "Tell them that they can come in. We need to talk about how this is going to work."

Chat Noir and Rena Rouge stepped away from the door a few seconds before Master Fu walked over and opened it, smiling at them in a slightly amused way.

"Come in." He said. "We have much to discuss."

"Are you okay?" Chat Noir asked as they all released their transformations, sitting around Koena, who was laying down on the floor, arms crossed in mild annoyance.

"I'm fine." She said, her red and purple eyes shining with determination. "It's time that we end this."


	9. Chapter 9

The plan was simple, Koena said, because she didn't know if light or dark would be needed. They didn't have time to think over every single detail, and she also said that it was easier to just go with the flow when it came to Nooro's Miraculous.

But that didn't mean that they wouldn't have an outline.

Master Fu would borrow the Dragon Miraculous, if only so that he could walk out there without being akumatized. He would be going to help Koena move around, and they would be the back up if anything went wrong.

Alya would make illusions of all of them in civilian and superhero form before she, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Queen Bee, and Carapace broke in. It would be hard for Hawkmoth to distinguish the illusions from the fakes.

While she kept the illusions alive, Carapace and Queen Bee would be serving as a distraction of sorts for Hawkmoth. Ladybug and Chat Noir would do their best to take advantage of the openings provided to them. If Hawkmoth focused on them, Queen Bee and Carapace could then take advantage of that. Illusions were included with this plan too- the civilian forms only if someone needed to detransform.

Once they had the Moth Miraculous, Koena gave Ladybug explicit instructions to use the Miraculous Cure as fast as possible- they didn't know how much time they had left before the cure wouldn't be able to help everything. When asked about if the cure would help Koena, she had merely shrugged.

"It's a fifty fifty chance." She admitted. "I'm not supposed to be effected my magic, but the Ladybug's powers are mysterious and love to break the rules of the universe when it comes to Lucky Charm and Miraculous Cure. Sometimes the universe lets it get away with breaking the law, sometimes it doesn't. I wouldn't get my hopes up though."

And that had lead them to where they were right now.

Chat Noir took a calming breath, looking around at his teammates as they all looked at him in return.

"Let's do this." He said. Ladybug sent him a smile and gave his shoulder a supportive squeeze before they leapt off of the top of his house and crashed through the window. It was already cracked from when Adrien had first rushed out in an attempt to outrun the Akuma and thus his father. He was proud of himself for not flinching at the memory, but now wasn't the time to get distracted.

"Ah, you've finally come." His father's voice echoed throughout the room, but when Chat Noir looked around with the help of hush night vision, he couldn't see him.

"Show yourself!" Rena Rouge shouted, and so did her illusion. Chat Noir's ears twitched when he heard something tearing.

"Watch out!" He shouted, managing to push Ladybug and Queen Bee out of the way as the cage dropped. Carapace had been out of range, so it was just him, and Rena Rouge. The cage had fallen upon most of their illusions. Chat Noir growled as he grabbed the bars on the cage, shaking them.

Of course they weren't loose. He'd have to use Cataclysm then.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug shouted, rushing over to him as he lifted up his hand to use Cataclysm. "Don't! He wants you to use it so that he can overpower you once you detransform and take your Miraculous!"

He bared his teeth when he realized that she was right, leaning against the bars of the cage and closing his eyes.

"How very observant of you, Ladybug." Hawkmoth's voice continued to echo throughout the room. Ladybug spun around, wielding her yoyo and spinning it by her side. Queen Bee and Carapace got into a defensive position. He landed on the ground with a soft thud, the few white butterflies flying around the room moving to hover by him. He stood up, a wicked smirk on his face. "However, I have a proposal for you."

"We're not going to give up our Miraculous!" Ladybug replied.

"Milady." Chat Noir whispered. "Don't get aggravated. Think clearly." She gave him a subtle nod in return.

"Oh, I think that you'll be changing your opinion soon, Miss Dupain-Cheng." Hawkmoth replied. Chat Noir heard Rena Rouge gasp, and he turned around just in time to see what Hawkmoth was doing. He growled, removing his bell to grab the two Akuma that had been heading toward them.

"That's not going to work, father." Chat Noir spat the word out like it was a mouthful of sour milk, turning around to glare at him.

"Oh, it will." Hawkmoth replied, not phased at all. "I wonder how many Akuma your bell can hold until it's full- definitely no more than ten. Once it's full, there will be nothing stopping my Akuma from force-akumatizing you two. And that's a terribly painful process, isn't it, Adrien?" He hissed in return, almost flinching.

"I'll capture them then!" Ladybug exclaimed.

"Oh, I think you'll be a little too busy fighting to notice." Hawkmoth replied, drawing a sword out of his cane. Ladybug, Queen Bee, and Carapace rushed forward, insinuating a fight between the three heroes and super villain. Chat Noir turned to Rena Rouge.

"We need to do something." He hissed in a harsh whisper to her. "If I use Cataclysm I'll have to detransform, and we can't let that happen."

"I know, I know, I'm trying to think." She replied, looking around and tapping her fingers against her suit. "It's kinda hard to when the threat of being force akumatized is hanging over our heads!"

"Let me worry about that- you worry about getting out of here." He replied, tightening his grip on his bell as he looked around for any incoming Akuma.

"Okay, okay, so these bars aren't far enough apart for us to squeeze through, and it's not that much taller than us. It must also be really heavy, but we're superheroes-"

Chat Noir reached out and caught an Akuma flying at her.

"-The problem is that we'd have to work together to do it, so we can't lift if up- or can we? It never got completely attached to the floor, and we've lifted heavier things-"

Chat Noir caught another Akuma aimed at him this time.

"-So if we can get a good grip on the cage, we can throw it off us!"

"Great thinking, Alya!" Chat Noir replied. "Let's do it!" They both moved to one of the longer sides of the cage, reaching down and by the floor.

"On the count of three." Rena Rouge said, Chat Noir wouldn't have been able to hear her over the battle if he had been in civilian form. "One… two-"

"Three!" Chat Noir shouted, and they both started pulling the cage up. Once they got the cage a few inches off of the ground, they shifted their grip and began to push up. It took a little while, but eventually they had the cage turned on it's side with a satisfying clang.

"Okay." Rena Rouge sighed, a bit winded. Chat Noir didn't blame her, that cage was heavy. "Let's join the fight- behind you!"

Chat Noir whipped around and spotted the Akuma, reaching out his bell to capture it.

Five Akumas, so it was full. He could tell because the bell that was once light and shiny, now felt like he was carrying a rock the size of his palm, and it was dull and dark-looking. He reattached it to his suit, and together they launched into the fight.

The shock on Hawkmoth's face was quickly concealed as he focused on fighting the Five of them. Chat Noir replaced Ladybug with being the main offense- sword fighting with his father while also leaving room for his teammates to come and go with their attacks.

When Hawkmoth was completely cornered into a section of the wall, Chat Noir threw away his staff and pounced- full on tackling the super villain to the floor and wrestling with him on the ground. Hawkmoth had tried to use the handle of his cane-sword to knock him off without cutting his head off, but Chat Noir had knocked it out of his hands. His teammates didn't interfere or try to help, and for once he was glad.

After wrestling on the ground for a few minutes, Chat Noir found himself on top of his father, who was trying to reverse their position.

"How could you?!" He found himself shouting at him. "How could you do that to Paris- to me?!"

"It was for your mother!" Hawkmoth ground out, somehow managing to flip their positions. Chat Noir got a better grip and flipped them over again.

"She wouldn't have wanted this!" He exclaimed. "She wouldn't have wanted you to become a villain, and she certainly wouldn't have wanted us fighting!"

"Then you should have joined me!" Hawkmoth managed to get on top again, but he didn't have the chance to say anything else as Chat Noir forced Hawkmoth to the floor.

"And do you know how long I looked up to you?!" He asked. "How long and how hard I tried to fit into your stupid image of perfection?! And now I find that your Hawkmoth, the man who has been terrorizing Paris! I looked up to you! Do you know how much it hurt?! How much it hurt to realize that I was fighting against my own father?!" Hawkmoth almost flipped them over, but Chat Noir stopped him.

He wasn't done yet.

"But you know what I realized?" He asked, glaring into Hawkmoth's steely blue eyes. "I do have family besides you. I have Marinette and Alya and Nino and Chloe- heck, everyone in my class! I have family besides you! At any point in time, I could have run away and tried to live with someone else! I didn't, because I knew that you were hurting! You were cold and lashed out at people sometimes, but you just wanted to protect what little we had left of mother!"

"Adrien-"

"And it hurts to know that you've been coping with it this way, and no matter how much I want to save your sorry hide, you and mom taught me to be a law-abiding citizen of Paris! And that means-" Chat Noir reached up and grabbed his Miraculous before rolling away, leaving Gabriel Agreste on the floor. Chat Noir stood up and looked down at him.

"That it's time to pay for your actions, father." He said. Ladybug summoned her lucky charm and then threw it up in the air, causing the loveliness of Ladybugs to go around. Chat Noir turned away from his father, tears gathering in his eyes.

A few moments later, he heard his father stand up. His ear twitched, but he didn't turn around.

"Son-"

"I am not your son." Chat Noir spat out, turning so that he could look at Gabriel out of the corner of his eye. He ignored the painful twist of his heart as he saw Gabriel's face show extreme pain and sorrow.

Gabriel Agreste, the man who was only either neutral or angry, was showing how he hurt and sorry he was.

"Adrien." He spoke again, and Chat Noir didn't stop him. "I…"

"You can't say anything to fix this." Chat Noir replied, taking out his staff. "I'm gonna go and find Master Fu-"

"No need." They watched as Master Fu and Koena opened the window and jumped in, Koena looking good as new and helping Master Fu through. Master Fu walked up to Chat Noir, and Chat Noir handed him the Miraculous.

"Come on out, Nooro." The purple butterfly/moth kwami appeared.

"Koena!" He said happily when he saw her. Koena smiled at him.

"I'm afraid we'll have to catch up another time, Nooro." She said. "I have to right the balance."

"Before you talk to him-" Nooro flew up to Koena and whispered something in her ear. They whispered among themselves as Nooro whispered whatever it was in her ear. She nodded after a moment before walking up to Gabriel, who raised an eyebrow.

"Who designed your outfit?"

"Silence." She spoke, nearly rolling her eyes. "It may not look like much, but it's probably the most expensive thing in all of Paris." She cleared her throat before she continued, standing up straight and with an air of professionalism and seriousness that she usually carried around her.

"I am Koena- Guardian of the Guardians of the balance. You, Gabriel Agreste, wielder of the Moth Miraculous, have upset the balance. Those who take on the duty of the Miraculous are bound to serving good, and yet you have done evil."

"You hurt your son, and every single citizen in Paris, in an attempt to bring your wife back. Had Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Fu not been here to keep things balanced, you would have met me sooner. Now, however, you have greatly upset the balance. it is time to decide your punishment."

"You mean you haven't chosen yet?" Carapace asked.

"At first, I believed that the punishment should be decided by the citizens of Paris. They have been affected by Hawkmoth's actions and would have demanded a say in the punishment anyway." She admitted. "However, we have heard everything that has been said in this fight, and Nooro has provided me with priceless information that could change everything. However, it is up to Mr. Agreste if he chooses one or the other."

At the mention of the kwami, everyone looked at him in shock. He simply smiled timidly and waved.

"What is it?"

"You can either choose the punishment that I had previously set to be yours…" She began. "Or, I can bind you to a contract."

"A contract?!" Master Fu exclaimed. "You can't be serious! The last one-"

"Was made hundreds of years ago." Koena finished. "To young King Author, and only lasted till he was of age. This one, however, will last until you die."

"What's a contract?" Rena Rouge asked.

"A contract is a special set of rules that you have to follow in order for me to go out of my way to help you." She said. "It is only to be used if I propose it for the greater good. If you break even the smallest condition, you will suffer dire consequences. That is the way of the universe, and if I didn't think that he could handle it, I wouldn't propose it."

"What will it contain?" Gabriel asked. Koena reached into her side bag and pulled out some parchment and a quill that was glowing a golden/white color.

"You'd be under my strict watch, and you will no longer be able to own anything related to the Miraculous- that in includes being Adrien's parental guardian. That honor would pass to me. You are to listen and talk to everyone with the same amount of respect that you hold to yourself. You are to carefully consider any request, and to be patient and listening."

"You are required to do everything that you can to help those in need, and you will have to do whatever Adrien sees fit to try and get his trust back. In return, I will go an find your wife."

The promise that Koena made was shocking- it was a big thing, after all.

"But I've searched for her for years!" Gabriel exclaimed. "Nooro's told me everything even- how could you-"

"I am the only Great Guardian." Koena interrupted him. "I may look young, but I assure you that I am the first and only one. Surely you have read a little about me in your book." Gabriel looked like he had been smacked across the face.

"So?" She asked, holding the parchment and quill out to him. "Do you accept?" Gabriel hesitantly graves the parchment and began to read it. He frowned once he finished.

"You never mentioned-"

"The condition at the bottom?" Koena asked with a knowing smile. "I figured it would be easiest to complete that task if it was only you and I who knew of it."

"Will she know?"

"If she is alive, then yes." Koena nodded. "She will know of the conditions, and everything that has transpired. If not, then I will inform her and inform you as well." Gabriel nodded, looked over the parchment one last time, and then signed the bottom. The parchment instantly split into two documents, and Koena took one of them.

"This will allow me to know what happens." She said, placing it in her bag. "Keep yours on you at all times, even when you sleep. I will know if you choose to take it off or if it is forced to be taken off of you. Be grateful that you were given a second chance, no matter how strict the rules may be, or what may happen in the future."

"I already am." Koena nodded and turned to face the others.

"No one is to tell anyone that Gabriel is Hawkmoth. You can claim that he disappeared when you fought and assure the people that all is well. I'll stay for a little while longer before I depart on my journey. I don't know how long it will take, either."

"Come." Master Fu said, gesturing to the window. "Let us leave."

"Adrien." Koena walked over to him, and he looked down at her. "Gabriel Agreste is no longer your father- I have the power to change anything that you wish. No one will be any the wiser. Do you have any requests?"

"I…" Chat Noir paused. "I don't know."

"Think about it." Koena suggested. "I will still be here tomorrow. Come and talk when you need to."

"Of course." He replied.

"Why don't you go and talk to Marinette?" Koena suggested. "I need to remove anything and everything related to the Miraculous in this house, so I'll be a while."

"Okay."


	10. Chapter 10

Shandy: Hello again!

Candy: Reviews!

 **BDemon1995: Thank you, and sadly, no mom search this chapter. Maybe next chapter, or the chapter after that. :3**

Shandy: Enjoy the story!

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Ladybug didn't approach him to talk until they had arrived on their favorite roof to hang on whenever they patrolled.

The sun was shining brightly on the city, and no one was completely aware of what had happened over the past three days. Lots of questions needed to be answered, but for now Chat Noir was glad that they had a break. Birds were chirping in the distance, and there were no clouds to block the view of the beautiful blue sky. For a moment, Chat Noir just stood there and soaked up the sun.

 _Free._

The feeling enveloped his entire being- relief and excitement bubbling up in his stomach, just like when he had first gone to school- when he had first became Chat Noir.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" Ladybug asked, and he turned to see her. Her eyes were closed and arms outstretched as she looked up at the sky, a smile on her face.

"Very much." He agreed, and she peeked an eye open to look at him. "I missed the sun."

"Now that it's over…" Ladybug hesitated. "What do you think?"

"I think…" He paused, crowing in thought. "That I should take up Koena's advice. Think about what I want to do."

"Okay." She replied.

"You wanna sit down?" Chat Noir asked.

"Sure." They sat down on the roof, a small amount of distance between them as they looked around.

It was actually sunset right now- the orange glow of the sun making it all look majestic.

"It's over." Ladybug breathed, and he looked over at her. A laugh began to bubble out of her throat. "It's actually over, chaton."

"It is." He said with a small smile, scooting a little closer to her and putting his hand over hers. She looked up at him with her brilliant smile, which turned to a worried look after a moment.

"What…" She swallowed nervously. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly, no." He said in a joking tone, throwing her a toothy grin. "I'm tired of hearing that question for one."

"Sorry." She said with a small giggle, scooting a little closer to him and resting her head in his shoulder. "It's just… I can't even begin to imagine what this must feel like to you. I'm worried because I don't understand how this could possibly be affecting you, and… and I love you, Chat."

His heart burst with affection for her, and he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer.

"I'm not even sure if I can describe how I feel about this." He admitted. "Everything is mixed up, and right now I just want to relax. Enjoy the break we have." He rested his head on hers, not even noticing the little purr he was letting out. "Enjoy being with you, Princess."

Ladybug shifted their hands so that she could intertwine their fingers together, and she squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"I want to enjoy it too."

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"E-Excuse me." The girl in the black cloak walked into the bakery with grace, and straight up to the counter. Despite the cloak shading her features, her face was easy to see. Sabine blinked at her a bit in shock. "You're Sabine Cheng, c-correct?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I am."

"I need to t-talk to you and your husband." The girl smiled, her purple and fuchsia eyes showing only kindness and understanding. "It's very important, a-and I promise you that it's only good news."

"Oh!" Sabine blinked before nodding with a smile. "Why don't you go on upstairs, Miss…"

"K-Koena."

"Miss. Koena. Tom and I will be right up."

"Thank you." Koena bowed and moved past the counter to walk up the stairs and then sit on one of the chairs at the table.

After she had finished going through a intense check of Mr. Agreste's house, she had contemplated what Adrien might've wanted to do next. As his guardian, she now had to take care of him until he was of age to take care of himself, and that wouldn't necessarily be happening for a while.

' _How am I doing?'_ Light asked nervously.

' _Great.'_ Koena replied. ' _Just keep on smiling and imagine that they are Elizabeth and Adam. It shouldn't be that hard- they are very similar. Just remember their names and you're good.'  
_  
' _Right.'_

Koena had decided that Light would be the best one to tell them about what was going on, her caring, sweet, and motherly nature helped people remain calm and understand what was going on.

It wasn't long before Tom and Sabine popped in and sat down. Koena took off her hood, showing her blonde and partly colored hair.

"B-Before we start-" She began, relaxing a little. "-I just want to say that it is an honor to meet you two."

"The honor is ours, Miss."

"Please, call me Koena."

"Koena." Sabine repeated. "You said you had something important to talk to us about?"

"Yes." She nodded, pausing for a moment before continuing. "I'm sure that by now you are aware of the fact that almost three days had past since you last remembered, right?"

Yes."

"Well, during that time, the final battle against Hawkmoth took place." She began. "A lot of things happened, and while I cannot tell you exactly what, I can tell you that I am now Adrien Agreste's parental guardian. While his father did not die, he could no longer keep Adrien as a part of a promise between the two of us."

Sabine and Tom were still confused, but they nodded to show that they understood what they were saying.

"Unfortunately, I have no place for where I can properly take care of Adrien. While there are a few other places that he could go, he might want to come here and live with you guys." Sabine and Tom shared a surprised look before looking back at her.

"Are you sure?" Sabine asked.

"Yes." Koena smiled and continued on. "He speaks highly of you and your daughter, Marinette. I believe that they might have even gotten together during the three days of the final battle. It is highly likely that he chooses to come here, to be with those that he considers as his family."

"I always wanted a son." Tom admitted, squeezing his wife's shoulders.

"He considered us family?" Sabine asked hopefully.

"Yes!" Koena replied enthusiastically. "Of course he does!"

"Well, if he chooses to live with us, we accept." Tom replied. "I just have a small question."

"Yes?" Koena shifted a little nervously.

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you don't look older than our dear Marinette." Tom admitted. "This is all legal, right?"

"Tom!"

"It's okay." Koena smiled softly. "I was hoping to avoid this as much as possible, actually, because it's a long story. If I tell you the full, you'll have to be prepared to keep a lot of secrets."

Tom and Sabine stared at each other for a moment, before looking back at Koena.

"Tell us as much as you want to."

"Okay." Koena took a calm breath. "I'm not normal. I'm a guardian of the balance, and a guardian of Miraculous Users like Ladybug and Chat Noir. I am much older than I look, and am fully capable of being a guardian."

"Oh." Sabine gasped.

"If you wish to know more, you can talk to Fu." Koena continued. "Marinette and Adrien know where he lives. Either way, the battle against Hawkmoth was long and hard. Gabriel Agreste lost his rights to Adrien in order to seek proper balance, as well as promising to do other things in turn."

"I am unable to house Adrien because I have a promise that I need to fulfill, and it would be dangerous if he were to come with me. After all that has happened, he needs to have people around him who are there for him and will love him. Seeing as he and Marinette love each other, and because you two are such amazing people, I figured that you would be the best choice."

"It might not happen, but it is most likely that he would choose to live with you. I figured that I'd talk to you about it now, and know that you're okay with it."

"We're okay with is as long as Adrien and Marinette are." Sabine replied after a moment.

"I agree." Tom admitted.

"Good." Koena sighed in relief. "You didn't have to do this, and for that I am extremely grateful."

"Do we need to use any papers?" Tom asked, but Koena shook her head.

"No need. If he chooses you, the proper changes will be made then. If not, then you will forget everything about this meeting. No paperwork or court meetings. It'll just be done." Koena paused and stood up. "Marinette, and probably Adrien, will be home soon. Please don't mention any of this to them until after Adrien has made his choice. I don't want to pressure him."

"Thank you for talking with us about this." Sabine admitted as they moved to see her out.

"It was my pleasure." Koena replied, opening the door to walk out.

"One question." Tom spoke, and Koena turned around to look at her. "Is Marinette and Adrien Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

Koena stared for a moment, finding her words before she spoke. "You'll find out when they're ready to tell you." When Tom and Sabine blinked, Koena had vanished into the night.


	11. Chapter 11

Shandy: Reviews!

 **DANIELA123: Thank you reviewing, and a special thanks to your translator for helping you read it!**

 **kclinda: Thank you!**

Candy: Unfortunately, this is the last chapter of this series.

Shandy: We hope that you've thoroughly enjoyed this story!

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"Thank you for letting me stay here before I leave, Fu." Koena said as Adrien silently walked into the room. "And for giving me the items necessary for my travel."

"Of course." Master Fu replied. "It's the least that I could do."

"Excuse me." Adrien said after a moment, and Koena and Master Fu turned to look at him.

"Adrien." Koena greeted. "A pleasure to see you before I leave Paris."

"You… you said that you could do me a few favors?" Adrien asked.

"I'll give you two some privacy." Master Fu decided, walking out of the house. Unlike his Place of work, Fu's house was fully furnished and comfortable, carrying with it a mystical and comfortable feel.

"Yes." Koena nodded.

"Well… could I live with Marinette?"

"Of course." A knowing smile grew on her lips, her purple and red eyes gaining a mischievous look. "Anything else?"

"Umm…" Adrien paused for a moment, hesitating greatly before continuing. "When you find mother, you're going to be telling us in person, right?"

"Yes."

"How long will that take?"

"I don't know." Koena admitted honestly. "But I can assure you that you and Gabriel will still be here when she comes back."

"Right." Adrien nodded. "Do… do you think that I can change my last name to her last name?"

"Of course."

"And keep in touch." Adrien blurted out. At her slightly shocked look, he continued. "You're my friend, and I don't want to worry about you vanishing off of the face of the earth like my mother did. When you find my mother, be sure to come back and visit, okay?"

"Okay." Koena nodded. "Now before I leave, I do have something that I need you to promise me."

"What is it?"

"At least try to forgive your father." She said. "Try to mend your bond. I'd hate to see another family be torn apart, and you have the perfect chance to try again. At least take it."

"I…" Adrien swallowed nervously. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Koena moved and pulled Adrien into a hug before she pulled away. "See you later."

"See you later, Koena." Adrien replied as she walked out of the door, pulling up the hood of her worn black cloak as she disappeared into the crowd.

8285885885838747457747473736367463737

 _ **TEN YEARS LATER**_

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"Grandpa!"

"Hello, Emma." Gabriel Agreste knelt down onto the floor with a groan, his hand holding onto his cane to give his granddaughter a hug. "How are you today?"

"Great!" Emma replied. "Papa and Mama said that today was a special day, but they won't tell me what!"

"Oh?" Gabriel asked the five year old. Marinette smiled as she walked over, a hand on her growing stomach as she held Adrien's hand, the two of them smiling at Gabriel and Emma.

Their little girl had her mother's black hair and her father's green eyes, with a stuffed cat in her grasp. The cat had a basketball jersey on it, as Emma had taken a recent liking to basketball after Adrien had showed her a few of his moves- specifically ones he had made up after his time as Chat Noir.

"Yes, today is a special day." Gabriel agreed, standing up to smile at Adrien and Marinette, who smiled back at him. "Why don't you come on in? The others are already here." Adrien and Marinette nodded, walking into the huge Agreste mansion.

"Yo, Adrien!" Nino greeted, giving Adrien a nudge to the shoulder as Adrien patted his shoulder. "How was your vacation?"

"It was good- a much needed break." Adrien replied.

"I see that you got a little busy." Nino admitted after seeing Marinette's stomach. "Alya's pregnant too, you know. A little girl. And you?"

"Twins- two boys, we believe." Adrien answered. "Where's Chloe?"

"Couldn't come." Nino shrugged. "She says that hers and Nathaniel's business was finally picking up and off of the ground, they can't afford any mistakes."

"I see." Adrien nodded, and he knelt down when Emma tugged on his sleeve.

"Mama said I couldn't show grandpa my basketball moves until we eat!" She complained. "When are we gonna eat~?"

"In a few minutes." Adrien answered, ruffling up her black hair.

"Can I play with Uncle Nino's tunes then?" She asked.

"Sorry little DJ." Nino sighed. "I didn't bring them with me."

"Awwwww~! That's no fun!" Emma complained. "Isn't there anything fun to do until dinner starts?"

"How about an arm wrestle?" Adrien asked. Emma instantly brightened up and nodded, and they fell to the floor and put their hands up.

"Ready?" Nino asked, rolling his eyes as he crouched down and became the untitled judge.

"Ready!" Emma exclaimed. "Kitty's gonna give me good luck!"

"On your mark…"

"You're going down, Papa." Emma said confidently.

"We'll see about that."

"Get set…

They both tensed and prepared to go.

"PIZZA!"

"Uncle Nino~!"

"Alright, alright." Nino laughed. "Go!"

Adrien played around a little bit, moving their hands from side to side to make it more exciting for his daughter. She was sticking her tongue out in concentration, and after a few minutes Adrien let her win.

"Yes!" Emma exclaimed happily, jumping up and down.

"I can't believe it." Adrien mock-groaned, but his smile was large and toothy. "Beaten by my own daughter."

"They grow up fast." Gabriel remarked, completely amused by the turn of events. Adrien was about to respond when someone knocked on the door. Gabriel frowned.

"That's weird." He stated. "Everyone who should be here is here."

"Maybe someone doorbell ditched." Adrien suggested. The knock rang out again, and Emma looked up at her grandfather curiously.

"Aren't you gonna answer it, Grandpa?" Emma asked as Adrien got off of the floor.

"Yes." Gabriel nodded and walked over to the door, opening it. Adrien couldn't see who was at the door, but he could tell by his father's reaction it was a surprise.

"You haven't changed."

"Of course not." A familiar voice replied, and Adrien rushed to the door to open it wider. "I wouldn't be able to fulfill my job if I grew old."

"Koena!" Adrien greeted once he saw her. His father was right- Koena really hadn't changed at all over the years. "You're here!"

"Of course." She smiled at him. "I had a promise to keep. Can we come in?"

Adrien and Gabriel's breath hitched as they both took in the meaning of her words, and the fact that there was another woman with her. Her hair was graying, but her eyes were a beautiful emerald green, and Hints of blonde could also be seen in her hair.

Adrien got out of his stupor first, letting go and taking a step forward.

"…Mother…?" He asked. The woman reached a hand up to her mouth in pleasant shock, tears coming into her eyes.

"Oh, Adrien…. My honey bun…" They covered the small distance between the two of them instantly, embracing each other in a hug. The movement snapped Gabriel out of his shock and he rushed over, hugging both of them tightly. Marinette, Nino, and Alya moved toward the door to look out. Tears were in their eyes at the reunion, and Emma stood beside her mother, confused.

"Who're you?" She asked, pointing at Koena. Koena smiled down at her, her eyes changing to purple and fuchsia as she knelt down.

"I'm Koena." She introduced. "And you?"

"I'm Emma!" She said happily. She looked over at her father and grandparents curiously. "What's papa doing?"

"You'll see." Koena told her, smiling. Emma just pouted.

"But-"

"Shhh." Her mother told her, crouching down. "This is very important for papa."

Adrien broke the hug apart first, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Oh my gosh, mother, I have to introduce you to Emma Marinette."

"Marinette?" She questioned. Adrien nodded and led her over to Marinette who politely held out a hand, not bothering to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Emilie took her hand and shook it, her eyes filling with tears again.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Agreste." She said. "I'm Marinette."

"And this-" Adrien reached down and picked up Emma, who laughed. "Is our daughter Emma. Emma Emilie Dupain-Cheng."

"Hello!" Emma greeted, holding her hand out a bit shyly. Emilie didn't have any words to speak, so she just gathered the three of them in one hug. Koena smiled at the sight before walking over to Gabriel.

"Where'd you find her?" Gabriel asked.

"On the temple ruins, trapped inside a particularly strong spell." Koena replied. "When Nooro told me about how only you were teleported back, as well as the book and a few scrolls, I knew that she had to have been trapped inside of one of them. It took a while to find which one, and then to help her get back to normal health."

"If I took her back here when I had first freed here she would have gone into a coma from the shock. It took a good four years to find the ruins, and then the rest was spent preparing her and getting her used to being free again." Koena shivered. "She was trapped in a particularly bad spell- I couldn't tell her how long had passed until a few weeks into her recovery."

"And… and she knows what I did?"

"Yes." Koena smiled at him. "But you should go and talk to her and ask for her forgiveness."

"I was going to do that anyway."

"I figured." Koena turned to walk away, but Gabriel placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you stay? At least for dinner." He smiled wryly. "It is the celebration of the defeat of Hawkmoth after all."

Koena studied him, her red and purple eyes traveling from his towards the others. She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, waring with herself.

"Just this once." She finally said. "There is nothing urgent that I need to do." Gabriel patted Koena on her shoulder in approval, and she stared at him out of the corner of her eye.

"How are you feeling about the last term of agreement?" Koena asked. "It'll be coming up in a year or two."

"I certainly don't feel ready for it." Gabriel admitted. "But I will do whatever I can to fulfill our promise. I am a man of my word, after all, and I wish to right my wrongs." Koena nodded in approval, and then walked over to their family.

"I hate to interrupt the touching moment, but we should probably go inside." She said.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Adrien said happily, leading his mother inside. "Dinner is probably ready by now!"

"What is it?" Emilie asked curiously.

"Our favorite." Adrien admitted. "Come on! I'm sure we can get the chef to set out a few more plates!"

"Of course we can." Gabriel said, smiling at Adrien. "I'll go and tell him."

Koena entered the house last, watching as they all conversed with each other and grew closer and closer together

' _I'll miss them.'_ She thought fondly.

' _Remember, we promised to keep in touch with Adrien.'_ Light reminded her.

' _Yes, I'm sure that we'll come back here soon.'_

' _I still can't believe that you let that lowlife have a second chance.'_ Dark grumbled. ' _He deserves worse than what he got.'_

' _He chose his punishment.'_ Koena replied. ' _He knows what is going to happen, and he won't waste money trying to fix it either.'_

' _It's definitely better than jail time.'_ Light put out happily. ' _I just wish that it didn't have to happen so soon…'_

' _If it didn't happen, then the universe will use other means to right it.'_ Koena replied. ' _You know this. This is the happiest ending that he could have gotten with his life choices.'_

' _Yeah…'_ Light sighed dreamily, but didn't continue her thought. Koena rolled her eyes as she continued to watch them from where she stood.

This, she knew, was a truly happy ending.


End file.
